Life Could Be a Dream
by Fabulous Cars Crazy Fudge
Summary: Fudge Rossi-Topolino is Luigi and Guido's adopted daughter and the only human living in Radiator Springs. She considers herself the luckiest girl in the world to have such a loving family and couldn't be happier. But when her family happiness is ultimately threatened, Fudge needs a miracle. Could a selfish, red race car be that miracle? He just might be. My OC, Fudge, in Cars 1. :)
1. Meet Fudge Rossi-Topolino

**All right, everybody. You've asked and so, you shall receive. *Drum roll* Here is the first** ** _Cars_** **movie, but featuring my OC, Fudge Rossi-Topolino, adoptive daughter of Luigi and Guido and Radiator Springs's only resident human. In hindsight, maybe I should've done this before** ** _Cars 2_** **. *Shrugs* Oh, well.**

 **This'll be a little different to the version I originally wrote because some of the first few chapters appeared in a couple of my** ** _Tales From Radiator Springs_** **stories (i.e.** ** _Fudge Day_** **and** ** _The Fabulous Hudson Hornet_** **) and Lightning McQueen doesn't even show up until chapter ten. However, here, there will be about three or four introductory chapters that take place about six months before the first movie and then we'll get into the movie.**

 **Disclaimer: I wish I owned** ** _Cars_** **, but I don't think Pixar are ready to give it up to me (they haven't replied to my emails! XD) However, I do own Fudge and a couple more OCs, who will be appearing in the story.**

 **Okay, I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the story (I hope you do!).**

 **Life Could Be a Dream**

 **Chapter 1- Meet Fudge Rossi-Topolino**

Her name was Brittney Rossi-Topolino. Only it was extremely rare that anybody called her that. For the most part, everyone called her Fudge because she was so sweet. Sweet-looking with curly brown hair, blue eyes and she was really short. And she was so sweet-acting with an obvious love for everyone around her.

But there was something unusual about her. She was a human girl living in a small town of cars named Radiator Springs in Arizona. Although humans and vehicles co-existed, it was unusual to only have one human in a town of cars. But Fudge didn't care. The cars of Radiator Springs were her family and she loved them immensely.

First, there were her adoptive fathers, Luigi Topolino, the yellow Fiat and Guido Rossi, the blue forklift. Mater, the rusty, dented, buck-toothed tow truck, was like her older brother. The town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson, a cobalt blue Hudson Hornet, had always been like a grandfather to her while Lizzie, the elderly black Model T, was like a grandmother to her. Plus, Fudge saw the rest of the townsfolk as her aunts and uncles. There was Flo, the mint green show car; her husband, Ramone, the Lowrider, who was always changing colour; Fillmore, the light green Volkswagen hippie van, decorated with flowers and the word PEACE and other similar things; Sarge, the green army Jeep; Sheriff, the black and white Mercury Police Cruiser; Red, the town's shy fire truck (the gentle giant, so to speak) and, Radiator Springs's most recent arrival, Sally Carrera, the baby blue Porsche, who arrived two years prior.

So, what happened to Fudge's human family? Nobody was sure. Fudge was born when Luigi and Guido found her mother in labour just outside of town. They helped her get to Doc's clinic, she gave birth to Fudge and even named her, only to abandon her a few hours later! Luckily, Guido and Luigi took care of her and officially adopted her when she was five months old. While they kept her first name, they changed her last name to both of theirs.

However, Fudge was unaware of her abandonment and her family planned to keep it that way for as long as possible. She was just so young, happy and innocent. But one day, a cold, day in the December in which she was only five years old, all of that changed...

"Hi, everyone!" she greeted the others as she skipped happily over to Flo's V8 Café as she did every single morning.

The cars all glanced up from their morning oil. "Hi, Fudge!" they returned her greeting warmly.

"Here you go, honey!" Flo added, giving her some cereal and juice.

" _Grazie_!" Fudge replied, tucking into her breakfast. Being adopted by Italians meant that Fudge also learned her fathers' native language. She was only five, but she was already pretty good at it.

"So, what are your plans for today, Miss Fudge?" Sally wanted to know.

"Playing!" the child announced with a big smile on her face. "It's cold today. Do you think it's gonna snow?"

The others smiled.

"Not today, kiddo", Sheriff informed her ruefully. "Maybe later in the month."

"How long until Christmas? How many days?"

"Christmas ain't for nearly another month", Doc replied.

"But you should start thinking about what you want", Luigi added, kissing his daughter.

Though, Luigi was actually nervous as he and the others always were around Christmas and Fudge's birthday. What if she wanted something really expensive? The townsfolk weren't exactly poor, but with a lack of business in their town, they couldn't afford really expensive things either.

It was one of the many reasons why they worried about her living in Radiator Springs. There was also the fact that her social interactions were very limited and didn't include any of her own species. Sometimes, they wondered (and worried) if she would be better off living somewhere else, but they were far too attached to let her go now.

Besides, when they saw that big, beautiful smile on her face, they knew that they must be doing something right.

"You can't get me, you can't get me!" Fudge taunted her car family as she leapt up and started to run around, trying to get away from them all.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that if I were you!" Sarge informed her with a grin as he and the others all began to chase after her.

"Can't catch me!" she hollered, tearing down Main Street. "Can't catch Fudgie!"

"Is that what you think, Fudgie?" Luigi asked her teasingly as he chased her (going easy on her, of course, because she was only a little human girl, who couldn't go as fast as her car family).

She nodded completely seriously. "Yep."

"Not if _we_ can help it!" Sheriff replied.

For ten minutes, Fudge ran away and dodged through her family to avoid them grabbing her. Everyone was laughing like crazy, especially Fudge herself. However, it didn't take long after that ten minute mark for her to slow down. She was clearly out of breath. So, she had another idea.

"Close your eyes and count to a hundred!" the five-year-old ordered the others.

They all smiled and obeyed.

She ran as fast as possible while exhausted to hide from them all, ducking behind the Stanley statue.

"Ninety-seven... ninety-eight... ninety-nine... One hundred!" They all opened their eyes and looked around to find a lack of Fudge.

"Where did she go?" Luigi wondered.

"I sure hope nothing happened to her", Doc remarked with a smile.

"Me too", Luigi agreed. "Poor Fudgie, lost and all alone."

"Well", Sheriff announced, "let's go find her."

The cars all drove around, calling out her name, but Fudge refused to come out of her hiding place. The little girl just knelt there, giggling. Everyone heard her, but they pretended not to.

"Where could she _be_?" Luigi quizzed the others.

"I don't know, man", Fillmore replied. "Maybe she disappeared."

"Maybe..." Mater paused dramatically. "Maybe the _ghostlight_ got her."

"Mater!" Sheriff scolded. "Don't mock the ghostlight!"

"But you done said not to tell Fudge about the ghostlight!" Mater protested. "She don't know the dangers!"

Fudge's eyes widened. She'd never heard of the ghostlight (Sheriff had insisted that Fudge was too young for the ghostlight) and didn't like the sound of it.

So, she ran to her family, horrified. "Here I am, here I am!"

"I got Fudge!" Luigi announced, laughing as she scooped his daughter onto his hood. "I got Fudge!"

"Oh, no!" the five-year-old shouted, but she was giggling. Then she stopped. "What's the ghostlight?"

There was some hesitation from the group.

"I'll tell you when you're older", was Sheriff's eventual reply.

"Let's keep playing hide-and-seek!" Fudge requested.

"Okay!" everyone agreed.

Hide-and-seek went on for a couple of hours before the adults informed the little girl that they were only going to have one more round, so they could all start working or doing whatever it was that they had to do.

Since it was the last round, Fudge knew that she had to make this hiding place a good one. So, when she spotted the tree in Fillmore's yard, she got the perfect idea of where to hide.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Ramone, who was the seeker, announced.

He drove up and down Main Street, looking in all directions. And when he saw a flash of brown hair in the tree, he rose up on his hydraulics, squinting.

"Found Fudge!" he announced.

Everyone who had been found by that point crowded around the tree, impressed that Fudge had managed to get herself up there.

"It was easy!" she declared with a grin.

"Well, come on down now, you little monkey!" Doc chuckled.

So, Fudge slid over to the edge of the branch nervously. It was a long way down. "I don't think I can!"

"You got _up_ there, kiddo", Sheriff reasoned. "You can get down."

"No I can't!" she insisted.

"Why not?"

"I'm scared!"

The cars on the ground looked at each other and sighed.

"All right, Fudge!" Doc called up to her. "We're gonna go find Red! You just hold on! We'll be back as soon as we can!"

"Okay..."

Unfortunately, however, when they called out to Red, saying that they needed him, the fire truck thought it was just a joke to get him to come out of hiding. But when he found out that they were serious and Fudge needed help, he felt bad. Still, in the end, he got her down from the tree with his ladder.

"Thanks, Red!" Fudge shouted happily as she jumped down from his ladder.

Red just smiled.

"All right, kiddo", Doc announced, sounding very serious. "Do you know what happens now?"

Fudge shook her head nervously. "No."

"You're about to find out", he declared, nodding ever so slightly at Sally.

"Fudgie gets... tickled!" The Porsche immediately launched into the task of tickling the child and the other residents followed suit, amid giggles and squeals from Fudge.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried.

"Okay, honey!" Flo laughed after a while. "We'll stop. And guess what! I'm gonna make cookies for us to have at lunchtime!"

"Cookies?!" Fudge repeated. "Can I help?!"

"If it's okay with your dads", Flo replied, looking at the two Italian cars.

"It is fine", Luigi assured her with a smile.

"Yay!" Fudge cheered. "We're gonna make cookies!"

And so they did. Actually, Flo really let Fudge do most of the work. The ex show car just guided her and only helped with stuff that a five-year-old shouldn't really be doing like breaking the eggs and putting them in the oven and taking them out.

"This is fun!" Fudge declared with a huge grin, mixing all of the ingredients. She was covered in dough.

Flo smiled at her. "Yeah? This is fun, honey?"

The child nodded. "Now, can we add in the chocolate chips?"

"We sure can." The former show car handed Fudge the packet of chocolate chips. "Put in as many as you want."

As soon as the words were out of Flo's mouth, Fudge dumped the entire packet in. Flo had been about to scold her, but decided against it. They were _her_ cookies.

And by lunchtime, they were ready. Once everyone had finished eating their main, Fudge brought forward a plate of cookies. She was grinning with pride.

"Anybody want a cookie?" she offered sweetly.

Everyone did, except for Sarge and Fillmore. The latter refused to "poison himself with unnatural ingredients" while the former just wasn't the candy and cookies type. So, Fudge passed the plate around, allowing the others to each take one.

"Thanks, Fudge", they all thanked the child as they took a cookie.

"They look good", Ramone remarked.

"They _smell_ good too", Sheriff added.

Luigi was the first one to take a bite. "And they _taste_ good."

Flo smiled. "Fudge did most of the work", she informed them.

"Yeah, I did!"

"Well, they are good", Luigi repeated.

"(Delicious)", Guido added. **(AN: You'll know this if you've read my other works, but a quote in brackets like this is supposed to be said in Italian.)**

"They taste great!" the rest of the townsfolk chimed in.

Fudge beamed.

"Though, they _are_ very chocolatey", Doc commented.

"Flo said I could put in as much chocolate as I wanted!" Fudge explained.

Doc smirked. "Uh-huh. And just _how_ much did you put in?"

"The whole packet", Flo answered before Fudge could.

The old Hudson Hornet rolled his eyes, but he was still grinning.

After lunch, everyone was busy, but that was okay. Fudge could amuse herself for the afternoon. She spent a while watching cartoons before starting a new project. Fudge loved to write stories and draw pictures to go with them and she wanted to create a new one for her family. So, she spent hours on it, making sure that it was perfect...

...Even working on it during dinner at Flo's.

"What are you working on, Fudge?" Flo wanted to know, giving the little girl a plate of food.

"It's a surprise", she announced seriously, not looking up from her work. She had one arm shaking back and forth as she held a crayon and the other one wrapped tightly around the paper in front of her, so nobody could see it. Crayons and markers of all different colours were scattered all around her.

"Okay", Flo agreed with a smile.

"Just be careful, Fudgie", Luigi cautioned. "I don't think you want to get food over it."

"I'll be careful!" she promised.

"Done!" she sang half an hour later, dropping the marker triumphantly.

"Done?" Luigi repeated.

His daughter nodded. "Yep. I just finished another story."

"That's great", the cars all proclaimed sincerely.

"Do you guys wanna hear it?"

"Of course!" was the collective response.

"Okay!" Fudge cleared her throat and began, only stopping to show them all the pictures.

"'Once upon a time, there was a little girl. Her name was Fudge and she lived in a town called Radiator Springs. She lived with her daddies, Luigi and Guido, who were the best daddies in the whole wide world.'"

The two Italians smiled.

"'Then there was Doc... Sarge... Fillmore... Sheriff... Flo... Ramone... Red... Lizzie... Mater... and Sally." She had drawn each car on a different page. "'They all loved Fudgie very much. They played games with her. They read stories to her and they always loved and took care of her. Fudge was a very happy girl to live in Radiator Springs.'"

By then, they were all smiling.

"'But there was one thing that Fudge _didn't_ like. When she had to have needles.'" She glared at Doc to make sure that it had an effect (she was still holding a grudge over having one the day before). "'But one day, when Fudge had to have a needle, she ran away and hid in Doc's garage where she found something very special.'"

"What did she find?" Luigi wanted to know.

"'She found a tr-'"

"Well, Fudge!" Doc cut in before she could finish. "That was a very nice story."

"But I didn't finish reading it!" the little girl protested.

"I know, but we gotta get goin' if you wanted to look at stars tonight", the Hudson Hornet pointed out. "Didn't you wanna go and do that tonight?"

"Yeah!" Fudge agreed enthusiastically. "Just let me put this away!" She ran home and put her latest story away.

While she was gone, everyone looked to Doc questioningly. Why did he interrupt her story? Nobody knew that Doc was actually once the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a racing _legend_. Nobody except Fudge, that was. She'd found his racing trophies a year prior when she hid in his garage to avoid having a shot. He'd told her about how he used to be a race car and begged her not to tell, but it was hard for a four/five-year-old to keep a secret. So, he would actually _pay_ her not to tell. And whenever he knew she was about to mention it, he would interrupt her before she could say it. If not, he would insist that it was some kind of game between the two of them. He didn't like the idea of the biggest blabbermouth in town (a title Fudge shared with Mater) knowing his biggest secret, but there was nothing he could do about it.

When it got dark, Fudge lay back on her blanket, gazing up at the sky.

"Pretty!" she commented, staring at all of the stars.

"Yeah", her family agreed.

Every now and then, the townsfolk liked to go out into the desert and look at the stars. They often chose the best nights to go, so they could see lots of shooting stars. It was so magical. Fudge thought that shooting stars were beautiful, but she never once made a wish. She had everything she could ever want already.

Luckily, they saw a lot of shooting stars before Luigi and Guido decided that it was time to take Fudge home to put her in the bath and to bed.

"But I'm having so much fun!" Fudge protested.

"Well, you can have fun with everyone again tomorrow", Luigi promised. "But now, it is late and you should be in bed."

Reluctantly, Fudge hugged and kissed everyone goodnight before following her fathers back to Luigi's Casa Della Tires for the night.

By the time Guido was carrying Fudge off to bed after being bathed, put into pyjamas and having her hair and teeth brushed. she was just about falling asleep. After all, she'd had a busy day of playing hide-and-seek, baking cookies with Flo, writing a new story and gazing at the stars. However, she couldn't sleep without Moo-Moo, the stuffed cow Guido and Luigi had bought her when she was born. So, the two Italians tucked her into bed, gave her Moo-Moo and read her a story.

"Good night, Fudgie", Luigi whispered softly, closing the book. "Sweet dreams." He kissed her repeatedly. First on the top of the head, followed by her left cheek, right cheek, nose and finally on the lips, Fudge kissing him back when he got to her lips.

"(Sleep well)", Guido added. "(We will see you in the morning.)" He kissed her in the same places and in the same order as Luigi just had. Like she did with Luigi, Fudge had returned the kiss on the lips.

Fudge closed her eyes and it wasn't long before she was fast asleep. Her fathers smiled at their daughter and at each other before driving out of her room. Not a day went by where they didn't consider themselves blessed to have her. Sometimes, they thought back to that fateful evening when they'd come back from shopping in Ashgrove to find her mother in labour by the side of the road and wondered how different things would be if they never found her. For them _and_ for her. If it wasn't for that lifechanging day, they would probably be doing what they had been doing before. Just waiting in town for business to arrive, their hopes fading away. They didn't even wanna _think_ about where Fudge would be if it wasn't for them. They were just happy they had her and they sometimes even wondered what they could've possibly done to deserve her.

Little did they know, their lives were about to take a dramatic turn...

 **Wow! I'm impressed that I was able to get this much! I really struggled with writing this. I just thought I'd let you guys get a glimpse of what normal life is like for Fudge at this point before we dive into the drama of the story.**

 **Please review. Reviews are my Cruz Ramirez. They're what motivate me.**


	2. Relocation?

**I'm back! Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and/or followed the story. Even logging onto check the traffic graph makes me happy. So, thanks, guys! *Hugs everyone reading***

 **Now, I wish I could say that I take credit for this drama that's about to unfold, but I don't. Well, I wrote it and made it my own, but for the general idea, I was actually inspired by Black Raider's story** ** _Thirteen_** **in the collection** ** _Psyche Stories_** **, which I highly recommend. I just felt like the idea would work really well in this story.**

 **So, with that out of the way. Let's get straight into chapter two.**

 **Chapter 2: Relocation?**

"(What do we do now?)" Guido wondered, closing Fudge's bedroom door. He was never really sure of what to do when his daughter was asleep. Spending time with her was the most precious thing to him.

"I have some paperwork to do", Luigi announced.

With very little business in town, it was surprising that the storeowners still wound up with a large amount of paperwork, but they did. Everyone had different approaches to their paperwork. The likes of Doc, Sarge and Sheriff, being the organised people they were, would go through it as soon as they got the chance. However, laidback Fillmore would let _his_ paperwork pile up for weeks, sometimes even months, a lot of it getting lost as a result. Luigi, however, would do his paperwork pretty early on, but would take care of it while Fudge was asleep or he knew he wouldn't see her for a while. He considered Fudge being out of the way important, so that he didn't have to worry about getting distracted and he could spend as much time with her as possible.

Meanwhile, things were just as quiet outside. Lizzie was asleep on her porch, Sheriff was out on patrol just outside of town (he was probably sleeping too!), Red was watering the flowers and the rest of the residents were at Flo's. Things were pretty quiet for a while until it seemed like Flo had seen something.

"Is that what I think it is?"

That got everyone's attention. They all looked down the road to see what looked like headlights.

"Customers?!" the group gasped in disbelief.

"All right, everybody!" Flo announced. "You know what to do! Just like we rehearsed!"

Immediately, the storeowners zipped back to their homes and/or businesses. Guido, who had been parked outside Casa Della Tires, hurried inside to inform Luigi. They were ready. Well, that was what they _thought_ anyway.

"Are you _sure_ you read that map right?!" a pale pink fifties-style car with pretty, deep blue eyes, formerly spotless whitewall tyres, now stained with the dirt of the road and a sour expression snapped at her companion, a white forklift with green eyes and armed with a clipboard and pen. "I _know_ this godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere, but it shouldn't have taken us _this_ long to get here! I'll bet you didn't even _look_ at the map _once_."

"In my defence", the forklift replied timidly, "this town isn't _on_ the map."

The car made a face, but she didn't say anything. He had a point.

"Hello", Sally greeted them in what was obviously a rehearsed speech. "Welcome to Radiator Springs, gateway to Ornament Valley, legendary for first quality service and friendly hospitality. How can we help you?"

"Radiator Springs?" the car repeated. "We're _finally_ in the right place!" (Sally couldn't believe it! They were _looking_ for Radiator Springs?!) "Anyway, I'm Mary Wilcox and this is Kevin Fairchild. We're from the American Child Adoption and Foster Care Association. We're looking for Luigi Topolino and Guido Rossi."

Immediately, Sally got a bad feeling about whatever was going on. Still, she couldn't exactly say _no_... _Could_ she? No. She couldn't.

"Oh! Of course!" she replied in an odd voice. "Follow me!"

Sally led them into town. On the way, the other townsfolk tried to offer them stuff from their stores, but Sally called them off.

"Don't get your hopes up", she instructed them.

They could all tell something was wrong, but they didn't know what.

"Sally?" Luigi piped up. "What is going on?"

"These two wanna talk to you and Guido", Sally explained nervously. Already, she was fighting back tears.

"About what?" Luigi wanted to know. The little car was anxious. He could tell Sally looked ready to cry.

"Could we come in?" Kevin requested, gesturing to Luigi's store.

Luigi nodded, fearing the worst. "Yes... Yes." He let them in and Guido followed.

"Who _are_ they?" Ramone wanted to know.

"Social workers", Sally answered.

A wave of shock went through the entire town.

"Uh-oh", Sarge muttered softly.

"They can't send Fudge away... Can they?" Flo asked worriedly.

"They _can_ ", Doc replied. "I just hope they _don't_."

"I have a bad feeling about this", Sally voiced her opinion.

Doc sighed. "Me too... Me too..."

Meanwhile, inside Casa Della Tires, Guido and Luigi exchanged concerned glances when the two visitors introduced themselves and the organisation they represented. It hadn't even begun and they were already nervous.

"We have some concerns regarding your adopted daughter, Brittney Rossi-Topolino", Mary began.

"Why?" Luigi wondered. "Fudge is well looked after here. Guido and I love her so much. Everyone here does."

"Oh, we're well aware of that", Kevin assured them. "That's not actually where our concerns are..." He glanced at Mary awkwardly. He didn't know how to tell them.

"We actually have two major concerns", Mary informed them. "As you may or may not be aware, the American Child Adoption and Foster Care Association is devoted to making sure all children in this country have the best possible life." She paused. "Now, we understand Radiator Springs is a very small town. How many current residents, exactly?"

"Thirteen", Luigi answered after taking a moment to add them all up in his head.

"And that's your problem", Mary replied rather rudely. "It seems to me like Brittney would have a much better life if she lived in a larger town where she could have more social interactions. She needs more than twelve people in her life, you know."

Luigi tensed up. "And what is the other problem?"

"Of the thirteen residents in this town, how many of them are human?"

The two Italians paused. They knew this was going. "One."

"And how often does she have contact with other humans?"

Luigi hesitated for longer before giving his answer. "Never."

"When was the last time Brittney saw a human?"

"Her mother left town only a few hours after giving birth. Fudge has never seen another human since."

"So, in all of her life that she can remember, Brittney has never seen another human." This time, it was a statement, not a question.

"No." Luigi's voice was _very_ quiet by that point. Nobody else was sure they even heard it.

"Right. There's Problem Number Two. Brittney needs regular contact with more people, especially more _humans_." A pause followed. "Which is why I suggest that Brittney is transferred to an orphanage in Wisconsin. The sooner, the better."

Neither Luigi nor Guido could believe what they were hearing.

" _What_?!" Luigi gasped.

"I'm sorry." Kevin's voice was also quiet.

"But we earned the right to adopt her!" Luigi protested.

"And that right can just as easily be taken away", Mary reminded them.

"You want to take our daughter _away_ from us?!"

Mary shrugged, not seeming very sympathetic. "It's for the best."

"How would _you_ know?!" Luigi shot back, trembling with anger. "You have never _talked_ to our daughter! How would you know what is best for her?!"

"Well", Mary huffed, "why _don't_ I talk to her? Where _is_ Brittney?"

"Fudge is _asleep_ ", Luigi snapped. "As most five-year-olds _are_ at this time."

"No I'm not", a little voice, an American-Italian accent, spoke up from behind them. "I'm right here."

The four vehicles turned at the sound of the child's voice. She was stood there in her pyjamas, clutching Moo-Moo. And she looked horrified.

"Fudge", Luigi began, worrying about exactly how much she'd heard. "You are supposed to be in bed."

"I couldn't sleep", she explained. "I wanted you guys... But then I heard that they wanna take me away! Is that true?! Do I have to leave?! Am I ever gonna see you again?!" Fudge started to cry.

"Oh, _Fudgie_!" Luigi exclaimed. He cast the social workers a look that said, **_Now_** _look_ _what_ _you've done!_

"I won't go!" Fudge hollered, running up to her bedroom. "You can't make me!"

"Fudge!" Guido called, hurrying off after her, shouting out some soothing Italian. Luigi stayed behind, glaring at the social workers and struggling to resist the urge to slap them.

"We're sorry", Kevin apologised sincerely. "We didn't mean to upset... Fudge."

Luigi said nothing.

Kevin cleared his throat. "Why don't... Why don't we come back in the morning?"

"But what about _Brittney_?" Mary protested.

"We can't just take her away here and now, Mary", Kevin reminded her calmly, backing away from her, hoping to avoid a tyre to the face. "There's a process. You know that." He glanced at a clock, indicating it to be 9:54. "Besides, don't you think it's late? And we've been travelling all day-"

"I think you should go", Luigi interrupted coldly.

" _Fine_!" Mary spat. "We'll go! But we'll be back tomorrow! This is _not_ over!"

With those words, Mary stormed out of Casa Della Tires, Kevin following timidly. Luigi turned to join Guido in the task of comforting their daughter.

 **I know that chapter was short, but I've got something big planned for the next one. Wait till you find out what I've got in store! *Evil laugh***

 **The social workers are my OCs. A head-canon of mine is that, having arms, forklifts in the car world have to do a lot of work, meaning that get bossed around a lot. So, as a group, I think that forklifts would be a very timid bunch. Of course, there are exceptions like Guido, but still.**

 **Lastly, I do have couple of quick questions and I'd really appreciate any answers.**

 **First of all, do you guys want me to update this story and** ** _When Life Gives You Lemons_** **simultaneously or do you want me to hold off on that one and finish this one first since it comes first chronologically? I'm perfectly happy to do it either way because both stories are written (though I may make some minor adjustments).**

 **The other thing is... Okay. I definitely wanna write Fudge in** ** _Cars 3_** **(with my other two finished, I've been really bored and don't know what to write! XD) and, from what I've heard, you guys want that too. Only thing is I've been struggling to come up with ideas on how to go about it? Is there anything any of you particularly wanna see happen in that? I did have some ideas, but haven't been able to think of how they would work.**

 **I think that's it apart from review (and if you have answers to my questions, please provide them) and I hope to see you all soon for chapter three! Fudge.**


	3. Fight for Fudge

**Can I just say how impressed and grateful I am for all of the reviews, favourites and follows I've been getting? Seriously! I wasn't expecting the story to be this popular this fast! And it's all thanks to you guys! I really appreciate it!**

 **I'm seriously glad that Mary had the effect I was hoping for (I really wanted to make her a character people hated), but just a warning: In this chapter, she stoops really low to try and get Fudge to leave town and it's probably something you're all gonna hate me for, but... Nonetheless, I decided to write it in.**

 **I know it's sad that Fudge is faced with leaving Radiator Springs. If it was me, I would not want to leave ever because, even though they're fictional, the car-acters are like my family (and my year's gotten off to a kinda tough start and, not knowing who to talk to, I wished the cars of Radiator Springs were real, so I could talk to them). Still, I feel like this is a good element to the story of Lightning McQueen's arrival.**

 **Anyway, I'll let you read the chapter. I would say I hope you enjoy it, but when you find out what's in store, I'm not sure if that's gonna happen.**

 **Chapter 3: Fight for Fudge**

It took a long time, but Guido and Luigi were finally able to calm Fudge down. They got her glasses of water, sang to her and held her close to them, reassuring her that everything was going to be okay. However, she wasn't convinced (and neither were they, for that matter), but soon, exhaustion took over her and she fell asleep. Guido and Luigi couldn't move from her side when she was asleep. They knew things looked bad and if she _was_ taken away, they wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Both of them ended up falling asleep over their daughter's bed.

"What happened?" Sally questioned upon their arrival at Flo's in the morning.

Luigi sighed. "Mater?" he began. "Why don't you and Fudge go and play for a little while?"

"Okay!" Mater agreed happily. "C'mon, Fudge!"

"But no tractor tippin'!" Sheriff and Doc ordered in unison. Fudge had no idea what tractor tipping was and the residents planned to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"Gotcha!" Mater agreed as he and Fudge ran off.

"Let's play by the waterfall!" Fudge suggested. There was a waterfall not too far out of town up in the direction of the Wheel Well where Fudge liked to swim (in fact, that was where she learned to swim), splash her friends, admire the view and play.

"So, what did the social workers say?" Sarge wanted to know.

Luigi sighed again and recounted the whole story of the night before.

" _What_?!" everyone exclaimed. "They wanna take her _away_?! They can't _do_ that!"

"Well, they are doing it", Luigi confirmed, tears forming in his eyes. "They want to send her to an orphanage in Wisconsin."

" _Wisconsin_?!" Sarge repeated.

"That's _miles_ away!" Ramone protested. "We'll never see her again!"

"I _know_!" Luigi started crying, which set off Guido. "We do not want our daughter to move all the way to Wisconsin! And we do not want her to go into an orphanage! She is our _daughter_! She does not belong there!"

"We know, we know", Doc assured them.

"And Fudge _heard_ them talking about this?!" Sheriff asked.

Luigi nodded. "Yes. She did. She got very upset. She did not understand everything, but she knows they want to take her away."

"Poor kid", Sheriff remarked.

"I know. Guido and I had to spend most of the night calming her down. That was very hard when we... we don't know what is going to happen to her!" Luigi cried harder. So did Guido.

"Why are you crying?" came Fudge's voice after about ten minutes when she and Mater returned from their adventure at the waterfall. The little girl was quite alarmed. She had _neve_ r seen either of her fathers cry before. In fact, she'd never seen _any_ of the townsfolk cry, except for Red. But now, _both_ of her fathers were.

Luigi took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Nothing... Is okay... Come here, Fudge."

"I love you!" Fudge declared as she hugged Luigi.

"I love you too, Fudge!" Luigi wept.

"What's wrong?"

"Am I interrupting?" a new voice piped up before Luigi could answer. It was Mary Wilcox, who was just pulling up to Flo's with Kevin Fairchild.

" _Yes_!" Luigi responded. He was still angry at them for upsetting Fudge.

Immediately, nobody liked Mary with her tight lips, sour expression and tone that clearly said, _Everyone's an idiot, except for me_.

"Oh, well, this shouldn't take long. I just wanted to let Brittney know that she needs to have her things packed up, so she can leave tomorrow."

" _What_?!"

"I don't wanna go!" Fudge burst into tears.

"My baby!" Luigi's sobs grew louder and so did Guido's. The Fiat pulled his daughter in close and held her tight.

"You can't _do_ that!" Doc declared.

"I certainly can!" Mary insisted. "If I find it's in the best interests of the child!"

" _Best interests_?!" Luigi echoed in disgust. "How would _you_ know what my daughter's best interests are?! You still have not said a _word_ to her!"

"I don't _need_ to!" Mary sassed. "Have you even _seen_ this town?! What kind of child, or _any_ person, for that matter, in their right mind would want to _live_ in this dump?!"

Most of the RS gang gasped simultaneously. Red burst into tears. He always did if someone insulted him or someone or somet _hing_ he cared about. Including Radiator Springs.

Fudge was the only one who actually _answered_ Mary's question. " _I_ would."

"There's your answer!" Doc informed the social workers.

"And _we_ want her to stay too!" Luigi chimed in. "We will not let you take her away just like that! We refuse to let you take her!"

"You know something like this can have you arrested, don't you?" Mary pointed out. "If ACAFCA deems it necessary to relocate a child and their guardians refuse, they can, in fact, be arrested."

"Fine!" Luigi shot back as Guido folded his arms. " _Have_ us arrested!"

Guido spoke in Italian just as coldly as his best friend just had.

"That is right! We will fight to keep our daughter here!" Luigi translated.

"We _all_ will!" Sally put in.

"That's right!" Ramone agreed. "Fudge is part of the family!"

"None of us want her to leave!" That was Mater. He didn't understand _everything_ that was going on, but he knew they were trying to take Fudge away.

" _Especially_ without any proper questionin'!" Doc pointed out.

"Yeah, you'll have to have _all_ of us arrested!" Sarge concluded.

"Yeah!" everyone else shouted. Some of them, such as Red, were nervous about the thought of being arrested, but remained strong, reminding themselves that this was for Fudge and for her, they would do anything.

"Oh, I _will_!" Mary scoffed. "Don't you worry about _that_!"

And she did. Pretty soon, police cars and vans flooded the town of Radiator Springs. The sirens made Fudge whimper. She didn't really like loud noises. Still, that wasn't even the worst part. The little human girl had to watch her entire family have parking boots slapped on to them and be loaded into the backs of vans. Even though she was only five, Fudge knew what was happening. They were all under arrest.

"No!" Fudge screamed, rushing towards them, but Kevin held her back. "Don't take them!"

"It is going to be okay, Fudge!" Luigi assured her. "We will be home soon!"

"(We are doing this, so you can stay in Radiator Springs)", Guido added.

"I love you, baby!" Luigi called as he got loaded into the back of a van. "I love you, baby!"

"I don't want you go to jail!" Fudge wailed, struggling in Kevin's arms.

"Stay with me, sweetheart", Kevin instructed her not unkindly.

Lizzie was the last one to be placed in a van and then they were off to Ashgrove, leaving Fudge all alone in the empty town with social workers.

"What are you gonna do to me?" Fudge sobbed.

"I", Mary announced with authority, "am going to supervise your packing. You are leaving tomorrow."

"Mary!" Kevin intervened nervously. "I have to say... This _does_ seem a little unorthodox. Aren't we supposed to ask Brittney some questions?"

"Who's Brittney?" Fudge wanted to know.

Mary ignored her. "I have nothing to ask her."

"Well, I do", Kevin declared, consulting his clipboard. "And I think it's necessary to have this information before we have her relocated."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Fine! Ask her whatever you want! But it's not gonna change anything! And make it quick! She has packing to do!"

"I'll wait for her to calm down first", Kevin decided, looking to the bawling child. "Is your name Fudge?"

She nodded.

"Well, Fudge, is it okay if I ask you a couple of questions in a moment?" Kevin was trying to use the name the little girl went by and her family called her, so she would feel more like she could trust him.

A _couple_ of questions? He asked, like, a _million_.

He showed her a picture of a human. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a human", Fudge responded confidently. "Like _me_!"

Kevin shot a look at Mary. "She knows she's a human."

"Yeah. I know I'm a human."

"Kevin, will you just hurry this up?!" Mary demanded impatiently. "More time you spend on these questions, less time she'll have to pack."

"Can you show me the human body parts you can identify? Parts that cars _don't_ have?"

Fudge did, identifying ears, nose, hair, arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet, toes, shoulders, elbows and knees (the others had taught her "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"). She got each one correct.

Meanwhile, at the Ashgrove police station, the rest of the RS gang were also being questioned. When they arrived, there were some police officers waiting for them as well as a human woman and forklift, who Mary had called. ACAFCA had one big boss, who was in charge of the organisation across the United States and fifty bosses under him, one for each state. The human woman was the boss of ACAFCA for the state of Arizona and she introduced herself as Amanda Jacobson and the forklift by her side as her assistant, Helen.

Amanda was in her early to mid-thirties. She had long, dark blonde hair, brown eyes and was tall and slender. She wore a long-sleeved maroon button-down shirt, grey sleeveless button-down vest, a black skirt, bright red high heels and an expression of sympathy for the cars in front of her. Helen was pale yellow with big, dark brown eyes and wore big glasses with light pink frames. Like Kevin, she had a clipboard and pen on her.

"We have some questions for you", a police officer explained. "And so do these ladies from ACAFCA."

Luigi was the first one questioned. Guido was last, only because they had to get hold of an interpreter. In the end, the person they got had to do it over the phone because it was too far for them to travel.

All of the questionings went pretty much the same. The first thing each of them was asked was their name and occupation. Then the real questions commenced, each one sounding well-rehearsed.

"So, you refused to relinquish a five-year-old girl to the care of the American Child Adoption and Foster Care Association", one of the officers began with each member of the RS gang they had before them in turn. "What reasons do you have for doing that?"

"Fudge is my _daughter_!" Luigi answered. "I do not want her to be taken away! What kind of father would _not_ fight to keep their child?"

"That social worker didn't even _ask_ Fudge or anyone else any questions!" Doc informed them. "She doesn't know anythin' about Fudge's situation."

"That poor little girl already has a mother who _abandoned_ her!" was Sally's response. "If she has the only family she's ever known, the ones who _love_ her, taken away from her as well, I don't know _what_ she'd do!"

"I know Fudge ain't my kid", was the reply Flo gave, "but I raised three daughters and I wouldn't want them taken away either. Luigi and Guido would stick by me in that. Everyone would. So, I'm doin' the same for them."

"Fudge just needs love, man." That was Fillmore. "And she gets that in Radiator Springs. She doesn't _need_ to go to Wisconsin."

"All I know is that I love Fudge", Mater explained. "I don't want her to get taken away."

Red's answer was the simplest of all. "Fudge doesn't want to go. She doesn't _need_ to go."

"But you understand, don't you", Amanda would speak up then, "that if ACAFCA believes that it's in the best interests of the child, then they can, in fact, take custody away from their current legal guardians?"

" _Si_ ", Guido assured her. "(But I know my daughter better than these social workers. I _know_ what her best interests are!)"

"Yes", Sarge had admitted reluctantly. "I am aware."

Mater thought that over in his head. "No. I do not understand that."

"We've looked after that kid for _five and a half years_!" Ramone argued. "If this was such a big problem, why has it only come up _now_?!"

"Radiator Springs is a very small town with limited contact with the rest of the country", Amanda explained ruefully. "This has gone under the radar for quite some time."

"What kind of life are you getting here?" Kevin quizzed Fudge back in Radiator Springs. "Do you believe you have a good life?"

Fudge nodded. "Everyone here loves me and I love them."

"You're not being abused... are you?"

"What does that mean?"

"Do any of them ever hit you or yell at you for no reason?"

"No", Fudge answered.

"Have any of them _ever_ hit you for _any_ reason? Maybe you'd been misbehaving and they smacked you?"

"No!" Fudge replied, the thought of any of her family members doing that to her scaring her so badly.

"Have they ever _yelled_ at you?"

Fudge thought. "I don't think so..."

"No discipline", Mary noted bitterly. "Make a note of that!" she ordered Kevin.

"Mary, I really don't think-" the white forklift tried to protest.

"Just do it!"

Reluctantly, Kevin wrote it down.

Fudge was confused. It was true. None of the townsfolk had _ever_ hit her or _really_ yelled at her. Wasn't that a _good_ thing? It was hard to tell what Mary meant when she didn't know what _discipline_ meant.

Back in Ashgrove, the RS gang got asked the same questions.

"What kind of life is Brittney getting in Radiator Springs?"

"Shoot!" Mater exclaimed, brightening a little. "That there's an easy one! She, uh... What was the question again?"

"She gets a lot of love, man", Fillmore replied. "And that's all she really needs."

"There's not one of us who doesn't love her to bits!" Flo insisted. "She gets everythin' she needs!"

"Except contact with other humans", Amanda pointed out gently, but matter-of-factly.

"No human will _ever_ love Fudge as much as _we_ do!" Lizzie insisted, having given a similar answer as Flo.

"She gets a good life", Sheriff responded. "She gets a good education. We home-school her in the town 'cause the nearest school is too far away. We play with 'er-"

"Hold on!" Amanda broke in. "Let's focus on the home-schooling for a sec. You educate her _in_ the town?"

"Yeah. The nearest school's too far away."

"So, she never leaves the town?" Amanda jumped in again. "Not even for school?"

"That's correct. But she's such a smart kid. She speaks Italian very well. She can read and write very well and you should see the stories she's written. She loves writin' stories. She can change tyres-"

"Hmmm... But that still means she's not really getting any contact with other children."

"No", Sheriff admitted. He'd thought mentioning education would be a good move, but it totally backfired.

"Has anyone in Radiator Springs been abusing Fudge in any way? Physical? Verbal?"

All of them had pretty much the same response to _that_ question.

"Oh, _no_! No one would _ever_ do _that_ to her!"

"I have a question for _you_ specifically", Amanda informed Guido.

Guido looked nervous, but nodded. "Okay..."

"What language do you speak at home?"

"(We speak both English and Italian.)"

"Don't you think that's gonna confuse her?"

Guido didn't have an answer to that. Fudge had seemed to adjust to speaking two different languages rather well. He'd never considered it as being confusing to their daughter.

Before Luigi's questioning finished up, he had a question for Amanda.

"Do _you_ have any children?"

"Three", Amanda responded.

"And how old are they?"

"Nathan's five and a half, about Brittney's age; Ryan's two and Leslie's seven months."

"And what would you do if someone tried to take them away?"

Silence followed.

"I'd probably do the same thing you're doing", she admitted finally.

Luigi smiled.

The RS gang waited nervously as Amanda spoke on the phone to Mary. What was she going to say to them? It seemed like she was on the phone forever. Finally, she returned with the police.

"We've decided to release you all without charge", an officer began.

"And I've spoken to Mary Wilcox about Brittney", Amanda added. "You're right. She should've asked some questions before deciding to take the child. However, she and Kevin Fairchild _have_ questioned Brittney and I have made my decision."

The twelve cars let out breaths that they didn't even know they'd been holding. They were nervous. More nervous than they had been to know whether or not charges would be pressed. This was Fudge's _life_ they were making this decision about.

"Based on the information I've received, I believe that it is in Brittney's best interests to be transferred to the orphanage in Wisconsin. Unless, of course, we can locate some blood relatives before then."

They were all horrified. They were _really_ gonna take Fudge away?! Were all of their arguments not enough? Had they _failed_ her? Nobody could say anything. They were just too shocked to respond in any way.

"I will, however", Amanda went on, "let her stay until her sixth birthday. That should be enough time to say goodbye and get her ready, shouldn't it?"

Nobody answered. They didn't _want_ time to say goodbye! They wanted Fudge to stay in Radiator Springs!

"I understand this must be very difficult for you all", Amanda continued quietly, "but this really _is_ for the best. Brittney will be well looked after. I promise you. This orphanage is in a small town. Well, it's a _big_ town compared to _yours_ , but still rather small. Right outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin and is highly recommended. There are more children there than residents in your town and, of course, there are plenty of workers there, taking care of them all. Human and vehicle, alike... It's a very big place, lots of rooms, a big backyard for her to play in. She may have to share a room with another orphan, but she might get her own room... It's in a very safe and friendly neighbourhood, just inches away from a very good school, which Brittney will attend. Of course, we'd have to get her assessed to see how well her home-schooling has prepared her and, depending on how well she does on that, she'll be put in either kindergarten or first grade. Of course, like I said, until then, we will try again to locate her family and see if any of them are willing to take her in..."

She stopped, realising that what she was saying was doing more harm than good.

As the RS gang turned to go, Helen, Amanda's assistant- who had been writing down everything they'd said without saying a single word herself- stopped them.

"When _is_ Fudge's birthday?" she wanted to know.

"June sixteenth", Luigi answered.

"Hmmm... That's still six months away", the yellow forklift reasoned, seemingly deep in thought. "Anything can happen in six months. Who knows? Your town might get back on the map. Fudge could have all the social interactions she needs!" By that point, she sounded _very_ optimistic.

"Do you really think she could stay if Radiator Springs gets back on the map?" Luigi questioned, sounding cautiously hopeful.

Helen nodded sincerely. "I really do."

The others wished that they could share her optimism. She was right, though. Getting the town back on the map _could_ be enough to let Fudge stay. But they all felt it would take a miracle to make _that_ happen.

 **Told you that you were gonna hate me for this chapter. And I think it's obvious how this story's gonna end, but I still think it's a good subplot (the idea, that is; I'm not too sure about the way I've written it).**

 **Good news! I've got a couple of stories I wanna write first, but then I've decided to start writing Fudge in** ** _Cars 3_** **! I still don't have many ideas, but I don't think they're gonna come. So, I figured that the best thing to do is just write it and see where it takes me, which is something I've done in the past. If I don't like it, I can always rewrite, can't I? However, it probably won't be up at least until after this one and** ** _When Life Gives You Lemons_** **are done.**

 **On a side note, I just found the Cars Land Christmas songs on YouTube, all sang by Mater and Luigi, and I am just in** ** _love_** **with them (** ** _I LOVE LUIGI SO FRICKIN' MUCH!_** **)! You should check them out!**

 **Okay! That's it for this chapter! I'll see you around!**


	4. The Talk

**Just a fair warning. This is a very sad chapter, but I still feel like it should've been included in this story.**

 **Chapter 4- The Talk**

Luigi and Guido both cried all the way back to Radiator Springs. The others all tried to comfort them, but it was no use. Their daughter was being _taken away_ from them!

"We will _never_ see her again!" Luigi sobbed. "And she may not _remember_ us!"

"What makes you say _that_?" Doc wondered.

"How much can _you_ remember from when you were six years old?" Luigi shot back.

The others didn't reply. He had a point.

"Must be hard on her", Sarge commented.

Luigi nodded. "And that is why I am worried."

"Fudge will remember you!" Doc promised. He tried to speak logically, but at the same time, try and make them feel better. "Maybe not well, but you boys have had a huge impact on her life. She's not gonna forget about you that easy."

"I think not remembering us well makes it even worse!" Luigi wept. "She may remember that we loved her and took good care of her. And she _will_ know she is not with us anymore... What if she thinks _Guido and I_ abandoned her too?"

That was the last thing any of them ever said on that journey home. That thought was too terrifying.

" **LUIGI! GUIDO!** " Fudge ran towards them, bawling her eyes out.

"Fudgie!" the two Italians cried at the same time.

The three hugged as Mary Wilcox and Kevin Fairchild appeared.

"Amanda Jacobson has informed us of her decision and we have told Brittney", Mary explained.

"Who's Brittney?" Fudge wanted to know since Mary had refused to answer the question when _she_ was asked.

"You are", Luigi replied.

Fudge gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

Mary shot a look from Fudge to Guido and Luigi. "She doesn't even know her own _name_."

"My name's _Fudge_!" the child argued.

"Your real name is Brittney", Luigi explained.

"We just _call_ you Fudge", Sally added.

Poor Fudge was _very_ confused. She always thought that her name was really Fudge.

"We are leaving now", Mary continued, "but we will be back for Brittney on her sixth birthday and this time, she _will_ be coming with us."

"You can't make me leave!" Fudge screamed at the top of her lungs. She started jumping up and down. " **YOU CAN'T MAKE ME, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!** "

"I most certainly can and I will!" Mary countered, sounding rather haughty about it.

With that, they rolled down the main road of the town, past the Radiator Springs sign and they were gone. Now, the entire town was gathered at Flo's, listening to Fudge and her fathers all sobbing. Nobody knew what to say or do.

"Why do they wanna take me away?" Fudge questioned fearfully, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Fudgie!" Luigi exclaimed sympathetically. He held the five-year-old close to him, nuzzling her gently. "They think you deserve a better life than this!"

"But I'm _happy_ here!" Fudge protested.

"I know, I know."

"They can't make me go!" Fudge wailed.

"Fudgie!" Luigi cried sympathetically, kissing the top of her head. "I know this is sad, but yes. They _can_ make you go."

Her sobs grew louder.

"They think you should be around more humans, Fudge", Doc explained.

"But I don't _want_ them! I want _you_!"

"We know."

"There's gotta be _some_ thing we can do to get me to stay!" Fudge insisted, staring up at Guido and Luigi with big, shiny eyes, swimming with tears. "I can't leave! I don't _wanna_ leave! There's gotta be _some_ way for me to stay!"

Luigi sighed remorsefully. "I'm sorry, baby. But I don't think there is."

Fudge's sobs grew louder. "They're mean!"

"I know, Fudge", Luigi assured her.

"(We _all_ know)", Guido added. "(It is not fair, baby.)"

"Do you... Do you know what that mean lady said to me?" Fudge quizzed the others as she finally began to calm down.

Luigi shook his hood. "No. What?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"She... she said that... she could understand why my mom didn't want me and... and why she left me, but... but... but not why she left me _here_!"

The RS gang looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. _Oh, no!_ Fudge knew what a mother was (it was hard for her _not_ to learn eventually from watching TV and hearing the others talk about their own mothers) and had always thought she just didn't _have_ one. They'd decided that it was best to keep it that way till she was old enough to understand. Now, it seemed like they had no choice but to tell her.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Fudge insisted. "I don't _have_ a mom!"

Luigi gave her another kiss. "Fudgie..."

"What?"

Everyone went quiet.

Doc moved closer to the girl and took her hand. "Fudge", he began gently, " _everyone_ has a mom. Even _you_. Your mom was the one who gave _birth_ to you. You came from a family of other humans."

"Well, then, where _is_ she?!" Fudge demanded.

Another silence. The cars looked at each other again. They _could_ lie, but wouldn't it just be quicker and easier to tell the truth? Besides, what lie _could_ they tell that would make it easier on her? Without saying a word, they were unanimous in the decision to just tell Fudge the truth.

"Fudgie", Luigi whispered, looking straight into her eyes. "Your mother... She gave birth to you and then... she... left."

"Left _me_?!"

Luigi nodded, trying to hold back his tears.

"She didn't _want_ me?!"

The townsfolk all felt their hearts break for the little girl. This was exactly why they'd originally planned to wait until she was twelve or thirteen to tell her this. She'd still be upset, but at least she would _understand_.

" _Why_?!" Fudge questioned as Luigi rocked her. "Why didn't she want me?!"

"I wish I could tell you, Fudgie", Luigi replied honestly, "but I don't know."

A horrifying thought entered Luigi's mind at that moment. If Fudge's mother didn't want her to keep her, what _would_ she have done to her if she didn't give birth to her in Radiator Springs? Would she have still left Fudge in Radiator Springs later on? Would she have kept her and been abusive towards her? Would she have abandoned Fudge somewhere else where she _wouldn't_ have the loving family she had in Radiator Springs? Would have another family who took her in been abusive towards her? Would Fudge have even been _found_ abandoned? Would she have been left to- Luigi couldn't finish that last thought. He didn't want to think about it. Up until that moment, he just considered himself- and Fudge- lucky that everything turned out the way it did.

"Is it my fault?" Fudge whimpered. "Didn't she love me? Is that why that mean lady said she didn't want me?"

"Oh, _no_!" Luigi assured her. " _No_! It is _not_ your fault! Fudge, you did not deserve to have this happen to you. You deserve to be loved."

"(Please don't blame yourself for that, Fudge)", Guido pleaded. "(Luigi is right. It is not your fault. Never _ever_ believe that it is! I am sure your mother would've loved you.)"

"Well, then, why would she leave me?"

"There could be many reasons, baby", Luigi explained. "Maybe your mother did not have the money to take care of you", he suggested, remembering how ratty her mother's clothes had been when he and Guido found her. "Maybe she did not believe she could raise you alone... Or maybe..." Luigi's voice went _very_ quiet. "Or... maybe your father... died."

"What does _died_ mean?"

He paused. Fudge didn't know. How did he explain this? Did he have to _now_? After everything she'd learned today? Yes. He figured it would be best to just get it over with

"When someone dies..." Doc began, silently agreeing with Luigi's unvoiced opinion, "they go to sleep... and they don't wake up."

Fudge was horrified. "That can _happen_?!" More tears spilled down her face. The poor little girl sobbed so hard that she was struggling to breathe. "I don't want that to happen to me! Or anybody else!"

"That is not going to happen, baby!" Luigi promised her. He couldn't bear to tell her that it was inevitable. She would understand when she was older and, by then, she'd probably forget that Luigi had told her that it wouldn't happen. "It only happens when you are very, very, _very_ sick or very, very, _very_ hurt."

"I don't want it to happen!"

Luigi didn't know what to say to her. He couldn't say, _Don't cry_ because she had every right to be upset at that point. He couldn't say, _It's going to be okay_ because even he had no idea if it was going to be okay or not.

Finally, the Fiat repeated in the most soothing voice possible, "Poor baby... Poor baby... My poor baby."

"It's not _fair_!" Fudge screamed. " **IT'S NOT** ** _FAIR_** **!** "

"I know, I know", Luigi sobbed.

"Nobody _wants_ me!" she wailed. "And I'm gonna be taken away from the people who _do_!" She cried harder. "What if... They asked me if you... you guys ever smacked me when I was naughty! Do people _do_ that?!"

Luigi nuzzled her. "Some people do. But _we_ would _never_ do that to you. We do not believe in that form of punishment."

By _we_ , Luigi was mainly referring to himself and Guido (Guido, especially, didn't believe in it because he had been abused as a child and would hate for anything like that to happen to his own daughter). While most of the others also didn't believe in smacking children, Luigi knew that Sarge, who was a firm believer in good old-fashioned discipline, did. However, Fudge wasn't Sarge's kid, so there was nothing he could do about it.

"I don't want the new people to do that to me!" Fudge shrieked.

"My poor baby..." Luigi repeated. "My poor baby..."

"I wanna stay!"

"We know you do. We want you to stay too..." Luigi took a breath. "Fudge, promise me one thing. Never forget that we will always love you. Even if you have to go away, we will never stop loving you."

"Yeah... I know..."

"That goes for all of us", Doc piped up, giving Fudge a hug.

"Yeah, we love you, Fudge", Sally added.

"Love you, Fudge", everyone else echoed in unison, moving closer to the child.

The entire RS gang gathered around Fudge, hugging her, stroking her hair, resting a comforting tyre on her shoulder or leg. By that point, she was the only one who was still crying. Sure, the others had and would shed tears over the situation, but their focus in that moment was on Fudge.

Fudge fell asleep in the middle of the large group. It was like she had gone to sleep a lot older than she had been the day before. She had become aware of the problems that she had. None of the others wished that any of this had happened. They wanted nothing more than to turn back the clock twenty-four hours. Before the social workers showed up. When Fudge was their happy little girl, innocent to the horrible thing her mother had done and unaware that anybody wanted to take her away.

Hours later, Guido and Luigi decided to turn in themselves. They removed Fudge's shoes and lay her down in her bed (they decided that it was okay to let her sleep in her clothes for one night) and kissed her softly. Like the night before, they couldn't stop staring at her as she slept. They were gazing at her intently, trying to memorise every last detail of her face. Occasionally, one of them would lean over and kiss her gently, stopping to smell her hair. If she'd had a bath, it would smell of coconut from the shampoo and conditioner they'd washed her hair with. That night, she hadn't, so it didn't.

It wasn't gonna be long before they would never see her face or smell her hair again. And whenever they thought of her, they wanted to remember everything they possibly could about her.

The two Italians couldn't help wondering and worrying about some things. Like how well _would_ Fudge remember them? Would they be able to find any members of her family? Would she live with them or in the orphanage? What if her family or the workers in the orphanage, and the family that adopted her, were horrible to her? What if the only people that ever loved her were nothing but a distant memory to her? What if she _did_ end up thinking that they abandoned her? They could reunite one day and she'd want nothing to do with them! But the biggest and most important question on their minds was, Why was such a young, sweet and innocent little girl- why was their _daughter_ \- being put through so much?

 **Yeah. I warned ya. It was very sad, but I felt like it was important. I'm not sure why, but I do.**

 **I also know it's sad how I mentioned that Guido was abused as a child, but a head-canon I have is that Guido pretty much had nobody until he met Luigi, who took him under his wing.**

 **The next chapter will feature the moment you've all been waiting for! Lightning McQueen's arrival into town! So, stay tuned for that** **.**

 **Please, please, _please_ review if you wanna see the story continued. Reviews are what motivate me to continue writing, so the more reviews I get, the more I'm gonna wanna post new chapters.**

 **And... I think that's it! Bye!**


	5. The Delinquent Road Hazard

**Happy Valentine's Day! Here is my present to all of you to celebrate my love for** ** _Cars_** **and FFN and the people on it! I'm back with a new chapter for both** ** _When Life Gives You Lemons_** **and** ** _Life Could Be a Dream_** **! So, I hope you guys all enjoy both of those!**

 **I** ** _really_** **hope you guys are enjoying the story. I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter, but I assume no news is good news? But please, please, _PLEASE_ review if you wanna see the story continued. Reviews are what motivate me to keep posting! Oh, well. I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter because... it's the moment you've all been waiting for. *Fanfare* Lightning McQueen will be arriving in this chappie! There's gonna be a bit before it, but then, we're gettin' into the movie! So, I hope you like that!**

 **Chapter 5- The Delinquent Road Hazard**

Two nights later, the nightmares started.

Luigi and Guido knew that, in hindsight, they shouldn't have been surprised. Of course, everything that had happened was gonna have some serious negative impacts on their child.

Guido was the one to first find out. He and Luigi had both fallen asleep themselves and the little forklift was in the middle of a wonderful dream. He couldn't remember all of the details. He just remembered it involved giving real Ferraris pit stops (that was Guido's dream; if he could do that _just once_ , he could die happy!). Then he heard a scream. At first, Guido ignored it, thinking that it was part of his dream. Maybe a fan screaming or the squeal of tyres in the asphalt. But when he heard someone screaming, " **LUIGI! GUIDO!** ** _NO_** **! DON'T! LET THEM TAKE ME AWAY** ", he knew. The blue forklift awoke immediately and hurried into his daughter's bedroom.

Fudge was sat up in bed, sobbing. Luigi wasn't there, which didn't surprise Guido. The yellow Fiat was a _very_ heavy sleeper.

"Fudgie!" Guido exclaimed, giving her a big hug.

"I... I had a bad dream!" she whimpered.

"(Poor baby!)" Guido wiped some tears away. "(What was it?)" He thought he knew based on what he'd heard, but he had to know if there were any details he didn't know.

With tears running down her face, Fudge described the nightmare in Italian for Guido. She needed a little help, struggling to remember how to say certain words in Italian (she was sometimes the same way with English; she only knew the Italian word for what she wanted to say), but Guido provided the Italian word whenever Fudge gave him the English one (he could _understand_ English; the little forklift just didn't feel very confident _speaking_ it). Plus, it was very easy for Guido to get the gist of what her nightmare was. He and Luigi had let the social workers take her. They had abandoned her.

"Fudge", Guido began gently, squeezing her hand, "(Luigi and I would never, _ever_ do that to you. We do not get any choice in whether you stay or go either.)" He kissed her softly. "(We wish you could stay.)"

"(Me too...)" Fudge agreed.

"(You have wet yourself!)" Guido noted, finally realising that Fudge's pyjama pants were soaking wet.

Fudge nodded. "(I was scared and I wet my pants!)"

"(That is okay)", Guido assured her. "(But I will need to give you a bath.)"

"( _Now_?!)" Fudge asked. The clock read 2:42.

" _Si_ ", Guido replied, picking her up. "(Now. And I will need to change your bedsheets.)"

So, that's what they did. Once Fudge had been bathed and put into clean pyjamas, she was tucked into a bed with clean bedsheets. Guido had been hoping that that would be the end of it. Still, he decided to talk to Luigi about it in the morning.

"I am sure it is just a phase", he assured his best friend. "All the talk about her being transferred has been very hard on her." He sighed sadly. He was trying not to cry. "I know that this is a very hard thing to say, but... but I think if Fudgie has to go, then the sooner she does, the better it will be for her."

Guido sighed. "(I think you are right.)"

Neither of them ever thought that they would admit something like that.

That wasn't the only phase was going through. Learning about death had scared her, which was the cause of her other phase.

"Come on, Fudge", Luigi had announced one night after he had given her a bath, put her into pyjamas and brushed her hair and teeth. "Bedtime."

"I have to go to sleep?" she had asked fearfully.

Luigi had nodded.

"But what if I go to sleep and never wake up like you said? I don't wanna die!"

"Fudgie!" Luigi kissed her. "That is not going to happen. You are not very, very, _very_ sick or very, very, _very_ hurt."

"I know, but..."

"Come on." Luigi picked her up. "Bed."

Fudge had gone to bed without incident that night, but little things occurred overtime. Like when she came down with a virus in February.

"Luigi? Am I going to die?" she quizzed her father worriedly as he took care of her.

The Fiat glanced up from his task of cleaning out the bucket Fudge had been given to be sick in. "Of course not, Fudge. What makes you think that you are?"

"You said that if I was very sick-"

"You are not that sick, baby", Luigi interrupted.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He kissed her gently.

Doc entered just then. He had come over to check on Fudge as her doctor.

"Hey, kiddo", he greeted her with a smile.

"Am I gonna die?" was her response.

Doc, Guido and Luigi exchanged a look that said, _We have a problem_.

Doc sighed. "No, you're not. It's just a bug. You'll be feelin' like yourself in no time. I'm gonna make sure of that."

It didn't help that, after her, every single Radiator Springs resident ended up catching her bug. Luigi and Guido caught it from her, so Fudge stayed with Flo and Ramone for a while, who also caught it. Then everyone else except for Doc got it at the same time, only for Doc, after spending a week and a half taking care of his sick town, to come down with the bug himself. (By that point, Doc, who was only one car, got exhausted from racing around town, taking care of everyone and, consequently, had all of the townsfolk temporarily move into the courthouse, so he could reach them all quicker if they needed him.) On top of that, somewhere in the middle of it all, Fudge ended up catching it _again_ from the others. And the whole time, Fudge was hysterical, worrying that they were all going to die. Still, everyone was kind and patient with her, assuring her that they weren't _that_ sick and the town would be back to normal soon.

Two weeks later, she was at it again when Sheriff had been injured in a tractor stampede. It was only a minor injury, but...

"Is he gonna die?"

Everyone sighed. Guido and Luigi had talked to Fudge about this. So had Doc. And Sheriff. And Sally. And Sarge. And Fillmore. And Flo. And Ramone. And Mater. And Red. And Lizzie.

"I'm not gonna die, kiddo", Sheriff assured her. "I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

The others had to remind themselves that it was just a phase. She'd be fine.

Fudge's nightmares continued for months and they got worse with her departure right around the corner. Not all of them had anything to do with her upcoming departure from Radiator Springs, but that was the reason for her nightmares and any nightmare she had was terrifying. She was afraid. Everyone else was afraid for her. And by the time it got to about a month before she left, they were occurring nearly every single night. Guido and Luigi had learned to expect it and they weren't getting any sleep. Instead, they were staying awake to wait for their daughter to scream, so they could go and take care of it. Then staying awake to make sure she was all right.

Eventually, the rest of the townsfolk started offering to listen for her screaming instead, so Luigi and Guido could get some well-deserved sleep.

"Where are Guido and Luigi?" Fudge had quizzed Doc when he came to see her instead of her fathers.

"Sleepin'", Doc answered. "They're tired from bein' up all night."

More tears welled up in her eyes. "Is it _my_ fault?!"

"No, no!" Doc assured her. "It ain't anyone's fault. You can't help havin' nightmares."

"Maybe it'll be best if I go!"

Doc couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"

"I'm just being annoying!" Fudge wailed. "They can't sleep because they're looking after me! You said it yourself! If I leave, I won't annoy them!"

"Don't say that! You kept 'em awake all night when you were a baby and they didn't leave you." He gave her a kiss. "It ain't your fault this is happenin'."

Nobody really knew what to do about it. Time was running out.

But there was one fateful night that nobody would've imagined in a million years would happen to their town. It started out as a normal, quiet night in Radiator Springs. It had been a couple of hours since Guido and Luigi had given Fudge her bath (which had been a very quiet affair with the only talking when Luigi instructed her to sit up or lie down to put shampoo and conditioner in her hair and then to rinse it out) and put her to bed. Yet she stood behind them, dressed in pyjamas as well as her dressing gown and slippers, clutching Moo-Moo, her hair still slightly damp from her bath.

"Guido?" she whispered. "Luigi?"

Luigi turned around. So did Guido. The former sighed. "Can you not sleep?"

She shook her head.

Luigi sighed again as Guido approached the girl and tied up her turquoise dressing gown. "Okay. You can stay up with us for a little while. Then even Luigi and Guido are going to sleep, okay, Fudge?"

"Okay", she agreed.

Luigi kissed her. "Good girl."

"Luigi?" Fudge began after several minutes of silence. They had moved over to the store's entrance and Guido was outside. "I keep thinking about my mommy."

"What about her?" Luigi wanted to know.

"I wanna know why she didn't want me."

"Fudge, we don't _know_ she didn't want you", Luigi reminded her.

"Then why else would she leave me here?"

"Fudgie, we said we don't know."

"Luigi?" Fudge started again following a few more silent minutes.

"Yes, Fudge?"

"My birthday is soon, isn't it?"

Luigi hesitated before nodding. "Yes. Yes it is."

"June sixteenth, right?"

"Yes. Same as every year."

"And I'm leaving on my birthday."

Luigi didn't answer. He didn't want to think about it. Still, Fudge couldn't _stop_ thinking about and neither could he.

"I don't want to leave", Fudge went on.

"I know you don't." Luigi kissed her.

"Who will look after me when I go?"

"I wish I could answer that, Fudgie", Luigi responded honestly, "but I don't know. I think they are going to try and find your mother's family or your father."

"But you and Guido are my fathers", Fudge argued.

"Yes, but you have another one somewhere. Like how you had a mother."

"Where's _he_?"

"I don't know, baby. We never met him. It was only your mother who came to town... Well, there was a truck with her, but he was not your father."

"How do you know?"

"He can't be. Your mother and father have to be humans."

"Oh."

Luigi and Fudge were silent. Just like everyone else in town. Fudge leaned up against Luigi in the entrance of Casa Della Tires, cuddling him, and looked around at the town. Her _home_. Guido was outside the tyre shop, repeatedly straightening a tyre display that was constantly being knocked out of place by a metal sign. Sarge, Fillmore, Flo and Ramone were over at Flo's. Flo was inside the café, Ramone was parked by a pump and Sarge and Fillmore closer to the side of the road, staring up at the traffic light at the four-way intersection, separating Flo's, Ramone's, Luigi's and the curio shop. The traffic light in question was the only one in town and had been flashing yellow since well before Fudge was born. Nobody had bothered to fix it. (There was practically nobody in the town, so why did it matter?) Lizzie was asleep on her porch (just like Fudge should've been!). Up at the firehouse, on the other side of town, Red was watering the flowers. Fudge couldn't see Doc, Mater, Sally or Sheriff. She knew Sheriff was out on patrol just outside of town, but she guessed everyone else was at home. It was a normal, quiet, uneventful night.

For about five minutes. That was when a noise that sounded like gunshots could be heard down the road.

"What was that?" Fudge questioned curiously, moving away from Luigi and running towards the road to get a better look and she wasn't the only one. Sarge, Ramone and Fillmore were all also peering down the road with the same curiosity.

"Fudge, stay away from the road", Luigi cautioned.

Little did they know that alone wasn't gonna protect her from harm.

Out of nowhere, a flash of red came tearing out of the drive-through of Flo's, sending several oil cans flying.

"Incoming!" Sarge yelled as the flash shot past them.

"Whoa, man!" Fillmore shouted as the three of them moved aside as quickly as they could.

"Hey!" Ramone hollered after him. "You scratched my paint!"

But this guy wouldn't stop. All the trouble he caused happened in under a minute.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he screeched, heading straight for Casa Della Tires. And Fudge!

Guido had hidden behind the sign, but Fudge was frozen in shock. She couldn't move.

" **FUDGE!** " Luigi screamed, rushing forward in pure horror.

He grabbed her and pulled her out of the way at the very last millisecond. While Fudge was unharmed, the same couldn't be said for the tyres, which were thrown all over the town in the car's impact.

"My tyres!" Luigi exclaimed, though he wasn't as angry as he sounded because he was just relieved that his daughter wasn't hurt. He looked at her as he held her close to him. She had wide eyes and was panting. Whoever that was had really scared her. "Are you okay, Fudge?"

She nodded uncertainly.

Still, the mysterious car kept going, speeding in the direction of the fire station. Fudge stared at him in shock, clinging to Luigi. He narrowly avoided crashing right into the Stanley statue, which was located right outside the fire station and courthouse. Unfortunately, he ran over Red's flowers in the process, horrifying the fire truck, who had retreated inside the firehouse. The car, who was covered in barbed wire, spun around the statue and inadvertently wrapped the wire around it. He struggled to break free. He was pulling with all of his might to get away. However, he tried so hard that Stanley came flying off the pedestal. Half a second later, he landed right in front of the car!

The car screamed. He reversed down the road, screaming. What he didn't know was that, by dragging Stanley down the road with him, he was actually tearing up the road!

"What's he _doing_?!" Fudge quizzed her fathers anxiously.

"I don't know, baby", Luigi replied, not sure at all whether Fudge should be watching this.

By that point, Stanley was on the other side of town and stuck in a telephone wire. The car towing him was struggling to keep going with Stanley stuck. Yet he persisted. Until the wire couldn't take it anymore. Both statue and car were flung back like a slingshot. The car was left dangling there and Stanley was flying through the air.

"Fly away, Stanley!" Fudge heard Fillmore call. "Be free!"

Guido and Luigi both hurried over to Fudge, pulling her inside and holding her close to them. They had no idea where that statue was gonna land and they wanted to protect her.

Luckily, Stanley landed right on the pedestal where he belonged. After that, if it wasn't for the damaged road and the shocked experienced by the town's residents, it was as if nothing had ever happened at all. Things got really quiet again. Once she saw that it was safe, Fudge ran outside and began heading down the road.

"Fudgie!" Luigi called after her. "Where are you going?"

"I wanna see!" she responded.

The two small vehicles looked at each other. They didn't particularly want her out at that point, but they couldn't blame her for being curious.

"Okay, but be careful and don't be too long!" Luigi instructed her finally. "The road is not safe now and it is late!"

"Okay!"

"Hey, kiddo", Sheriff greeted Fudge as they two of them made their way over to the car who had caused all of the damage. "What are you still doin' up? You should be fast asleep by now."

"I couldn't sleep", she explained. "And I wanted to see what happened. Why did that guy ruin the town?"

"He was speedin', Fudge, completely out of control", Sheriff explained as he scooped the girl on to his hood. By that point, they were right in front of the culprit, who was dangling helplessly from the telephone wire and breathing heavily. He was a red race car sporting the number 95. "Boy", Sheriff announced, "you're in a _heap_ of trouble."

The "delinquent road hazard", as Sheriff later referred to him, didn't reply. Instead, he passed out.

"What's gonna happen to him, Sheriff?" Fudge wanted to know as she followed the squad car on his way to get Mater.

"He's goin' to the impound", Sheriff explained. "I'm gonna get Mater to tow 'im there."

"I'll come too!" Fudge decided.

"It is _way_ past your bedtime", Sheriff reminded the five-year-old.

"But I'm not sleepy!" she protested.

"All right", Sheriff agreed.

"Hey, Mater!" Fudge shouted upon their arrival at Mater's.

"Howdy, Fudge!" the tow truck greeted her.

"Sssh!" Sheriff hissed at them both. "It's late and you're both _very_ loud!"

"Did you see what he did?!" Fudge quizzed him, still pouting over Sheriff's words.

"Who?"

"The race car."

"What race car?"

Fudge was surprised. "You didn't see him?"

"Well, you will see 'im now", Sheriff piped up. "'Cause I want you to tow 'im to the impound."

"Yes, sir!" Mater obeyed.

Fudge followed Mater and Sheriff as they towed the now-rescued culprit to the impound. Once he was in, Sally came hurrying over.

"Thank Chrysler you got him!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't sure if he was gonna stop!"

"Did you see him?" Fudge asked.

"Yes I did", Sally replied, not sounding at all happy about it. Then she added, "Hey, sweetie. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Instead of answering, Fudge turned to Sheriff. "What are you doing?"

"Siphonin' the gas of this delinquent road hazard", Sheriff replied. "Takin' away what gas he has, so when he wakes up, he can't escape", he explained at Fudge's blank expression.

He turned to Sally. "While I do that, Sally, why don't you take Miss Fudge home? I think we _all_ know she should be in bed by now."

"I'm not tired!" Fudge insisted.

"Come on, Miss Fudge!" Sally scooped Fudge onto her hood.

"Good night, kiddo!" Sheriff called.

"Good night, Fudge!" Mater echoed.

"I'm not tired!" she repeated.

But by the time Sally dropped Fudge off at home, she was fast asleep.


	6. Traffic Court

**Wow. I knew writing Fudge in _Cars 3_ , which I'm currently doing, was gonna be a challenge, but it is _really_ tough. Still, I'm powering through and, in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter of her in the first _Cars_ movie!**

 **Chapter 6- Traffic Court**

"Baby?" a gentle voice whispered in Fudge's ear early the next morning. "Baby?"

"Mmmm... What?" she mumbled sleepily, opening her blue eyes and rubbing the sleep from them.

When the blurs around her took on identifiable objects and people, she saw that Guido and Luigi were right in front of her. They'd spent the night by her bedside again. While they did sleep, a large percentage of their night was spent watching her sleep, kissing her and breathing in the smell of coconut. They were both relieved that there were no signs of nightmares. With the late night she'd had the night before and the lack of sleep she'd been getting lately due to her nightmares, both Guido and Luigi felt bad to wake their daughter up, but they had to.

"We need to go, baby", Luigi announced.

"Go where?" she questioned curiously as Guido picked her up and placed her, standing up, on the ground.

"To the courthouse."

"Why do we need to go there?"

"Doc is going to decide what is going to happen to the car who broke the road", Luigi explained patiently.

In an instant, Fudge remembered the events of the night before.

"So, why do _we_ need to be there?"

"Because we do." Luigi got some clothes out of Fudge's closet. These clothes included a belt, gloves, shoulder and knee pads, which contained magnets, so if she was sat on someone's hood, she wouldn't fall off as soon as they started to drive. Plus, it was useful when she slept on Luigi's hood, which she often did when she was scared (now more than ever due to her nightmares). She didn't _wear_ them all the time, but they found it useful to keep them near her at all times. "So, we need to get you dressed. Come on. We can't be late."

Even though Fudge was upset about the road and wanted the car responsible to be punished like everyone else, Luigi knew the court case was gonna be _extremely_ boring for her. So, he let her bring along some paper, some crayons, her Slinky and several other toys, promising her a treat later on if she could play quietly and behave.

"The Radiator Springs Traffic Court will come to order!" Sheriff announced not long later. He was at the front of the room in front of the podium. Sarge, Fillmore, Red, Luigi, Guido and Fudge were on one side of the room. Ramone, Flo and Lizzie were on the other side. Everyone else was yet to arrive.

After Sheriff's words, the double doors burst open and the culprit came hopping in (he wore a parking boot) followed by Mater, who had towed him over. Now, the race car was being shouted at by the angry residents of the town.

"Hey, you scratched my paint!" Ramone accused. "I oughtta take a blow torch to you, man!"

"You broke-a the road!" Luigi added furiously. "And you could have hurt my daughter! You a very bad car!"

"Fascist!" Fillmore called out.

"Commie!" Sarge shouted.

Fudge was overwhelmed by all of the noise. She'd never seen any of her family members so angry before and the worst part was that this guy didn't seem to care about what he'd done. All he cared about was getting out of there as fast as possible. Fudge thought he was a massive jerk. Still, she decided not to say anything. Remembering that she promised Luigi she'd behave, she took out a fresh piece of paper and a red crayon and began to draw quietly.

"Hey!" Sheriff barked out to the RS gang, shutting them all up right away. "Anyone wanna be his lawyer?!"

Fudge didn't know what a lawyer was, so she bent her head down again and continued with her masterpiece. Everyone else reversed back, indicating that they didn't want to be this car's lawyer. Only Mater remained still.

"Shoot! I'll do it, Sheriff!" Mater offered, parking next to the race car, who was parked over a spot on the polished wooden floor labelled ACCUSED.

"All rise!" Sheriff instructed.

"Stand up, Fudge", Luigi whispered to his daughter, who obeyed without question.

"The honourable Doc Hudson presiding", Sheriff went on.

While Fudge stood up, all of the cars made themselves straighter and Ramone rose up higher on the hydraulics he had, allowing him to alter his height.

"Show-off!" Luigi muttered.

"May Doc have mercy on your soul", Sheriff intoned.

There was a loud bang as the double doors were flung open again and Doc came storming in. He was seething with rage and Fudge couldn't help but whimper and cling to Luigi, who smiled sympathetically and lifted her onto his hood, assuring her it was okay. The five-year-old loved Doc as much as she loved everyone else (well, except for Luigi and Guido, who she loved more than everyone else), but sometimes found him intimidating. Same with both Sarge and Sheriff.

" **ALL RIGHT!** " Doc's deep voice boomed through the courtroom as he rolled down the aisle. "I wanna know who's responsible for wreckin' my town, Sheriff! I want his hood on a platter! I'm gonna put him in jail till he rots! No, check that", he corrected himself as the cocky race car grew more and more nervous. Doc rolled onto a lift that raised him into the air, so he was up at the high podium. "I'm gonna put him in jail till the jail rots on top of him and then I'm gonna move him to a new jail and let _that_ jail rot! I'm-"

He stopped. He'd seen who the accused was and there was a hint of recognition in his face. Not that Fudge picked up on that, but she was confused as to why he stopped talking all of a sudden.

"Throw him out of here, Sheriff!" Doc ordered. "I want him out of my courtroom, I want him out of our _town_! Case dismissed!"

Fudge was relieved to find that she wasn't the only one who wasn't confused. Everyone began shouting out in anger, confusion or both.

" _Yes_!" the delinquent road hazard exclaimed, sighing with relief.

"Boy, I'm purty good at this lawyerin' stuff!" Mater declared happily.

"Luigi, why is he allowed to go?" Fudge wondered. "I thought he was gonna be in trouble."

"I don't know, Fudge", Luigi responded. "I am sure Doc has his reasons."

The five-year-old became even more confused when the doors swung open yet a third time. This time, it was Sally who came in.

"Sorry I'm late, Your Honour!" she called.

The race car stared at Sally and even Fudge could see that he was instantly smitten.

"Holy Porsche!" he exclaimed softly. "She's gotta be from my attorney's office."

He smiled as she came to the front of the room. "Hey. Thanks for coming, but we're all set. He's letting me go."

"He's letting you _go_?!" Sally couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, your job's pretty easy today", he went on. "All you have to do now is stand there and let me look at you. Listen, I'm gonna cut to the chase. Me, you, dinner."

Fudge giggled. Did he _really_ just ask Sally out? Even though Fudge was only five, she understood the gist of what he was saying.

"Pi-cha-kow!" he exclaimed all of a sudden, using the sunlight that was coming into the room to shine a light from his lightning bolt sticker right into Sally's eyes. "Ka-chow!"

"What the-" the Porsche groaned. "Ow! Please!"

"I know. I get that reaction a lot", the accused informed her. "I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand."

He revved his engine, causing just about everyone in the room to jump and Fudge to whimper and put her hands over her ears. Sally groaned again.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The race car's voice came out smooth and he sure didn't _sound_ sorry. "Did I scare you?"

"You scared _me_!" Fudge piped up.

"Well, a little bit, but I'll be all right", Mater replied, thinking that the racer was talking to _him_.

He was ignored as the accused focused on Fudge. "Hey, _human_!" he shouted as if _human_ was supposed to be an insult. "What are you staring at me for? Do you know who I am?" He sounded hopeful, like he was desperate for someone to know who he was.

Fudge shook her head.

"Oh." He looked disappointed. "Then why are you staring at me?! Didn't your mother ever tell you that's rude?!"

"I'm _drawing_ you!" Fudge tried to justify her actions, attempting to ignore the pang of sadness she experienced at the mention of the word _mother_.

"Why would you wanna draw him?" Doc wondered.

Fudge shrugged. "I don't know..."

"Okay", Sally got back on topic. She gave the guy a tight smile. "I'm gonna go talk to the judge."

"Do what you gotta do, baby." He was _still_ flirting with her! "Oh, but listen! Be careful. Folks around here are not firing on all cylinders if you know what I mean." He spoke in a low voice, but everyone heard (though Fudge didn't understand).

Meanwhile, Mater tried to do what the delinquent road hazard had done with his sticker and the sun with his rearview mirror.

"Ka-ching!" he exclaimed. But then he shone the light in his own eyes! "Ah!"

"I'll keep that in mind", Sally assured the racer. Then she decided to shock him with three words aimed at the tow truck. "Hey there, Mater."

"Howdy, Sally!" Mater returned her greeting.

"Hi, folks!" she called to the rest of the townsfolk.

Everyone responded with a warm, "Morning, Sally" or "Hi, Sally." Fudge gave the Porsche the biggest grin she could muster, yelling, "Hi, Sally!"

Sally smiled, approaching Fudge and planting a kiss on the top of her head before making her way towards Doc.

"Doc, you look great this morning", she began. "Did you do something different with your side view mirrors?"

But Doc was in no mood for beating around the bush. "What do you want, Sally?"

Sally sighed. She knew she had to just get straight to the point. "Come on. Make this guy fix the road. The town _needs_ this!"

" _No_!" Doc insisted firmly. "I know his type. Race car. It's the last thing this town needs!"

"But aren't _you_ -" Fudge spoke up.

"The answer is _no_!" Doc reinforced. He knew what Fudge had been about to say and wanted to stop her from saying it. Over the last two years, Fudge had continuously mentioned Doc being a race car, but he would always insist that it was just a game between the two of them or, if he knew she was gonna say something, he would cut her off before she could say it. For the past two years, he'd also been paying Fudge to keep his secret. She'd made close to two hundred dollars and kept it hidden in a tin, which she managed to keep secret, even from Luigi and Guido.

The Radiator Springs citizens looked around at each other, confused. Why had Doc yelled at Fudge? What was she even gonna say?

"Okay, I didn't want to have to do this Doc", Sally announced, "but you leave me no choice."

Sally faced the crowd. "Fellow citizens", she opened a passionate speech she'd given several times in the past, "you're all aware of our town's proud history."

"Here she goes again", Doc groaned.

"Luigi?!" Fudge nudged her father.

"Not now, Fudgie!" he whispered back.

"Radiator Springs!" Sally continued, either not hearing Doc or choosing to ignore him. "The glorious jewel strung on the necklace of Route 66. The Mother Road! It is our job and our _pleasure_ to take care of the travellers on our stretch of that road."

"Travellers?" Sarge interrupted. " _What_ travellers?!"

"Ignore him!" Fillmore called out.

"Luigi!" Fudge repeated more desperately.

"Fudgie, _shush_!" he hissed at her.

"But how, I ask you", Sally went on, "are we to care for those travellers if there is no road for them to drive on? Luigi." The Porsche had Luigi's full attention. "What do you have at your store?"

"Tyres", the Fiat answered proudly, spinning one of his own.

"And if no-one can get to you?"

"I won't sell any..." Luigi's face fell as he trailed off. "...tyres", he finished quietly. "I will lose everything!" He started sobbing, leaving Guido and Fudge to comfort him.

"Luigi!" Fudge cried, giving him a big hug.

"Flo!" Sally moved on. "What do you have at _your_ store?"

"I have gas!" the former show car responded, sounding just as proud as Luigi had. Her answer prompted snickers from Mater and Ramone. "Lotsa gas!"

Now, the two immature guys next to Flo were laughing hysterically. Fudge would've laughed too if she wasn't so worried about Luigi. He seemed to have stopped crying and Guido had a fork under Luigi's front bumper, wanting him to hold it up.

"Okay, boys, stay with me", Sally instructed Mater and Ramone. "A- and, Flo, what'll happen if no one can come to your station to buy gas?"

"I'll go outta business and... we'll have to leave town."

Fudge was confused. Why would they have to leave town? She was only five. She didn't really understand and she decided it wasn't a good time to ask.

"And what's gonna happen to all of us if Flo leaves town and closes her station?"

"Without gas, we're done for!" the others declared.

"I don't want _anybody_ to leave!" Fudge yelled.

"What?!" Lizzie shouted, confused.

And Sally had one last argument to make.

"C'mere, sweetie!" she whispered to Fudge, who was still sat cross-legged on the floor, drawing quietly with one hand and playing with her Slinky with the other.

"Okay." Obediently, Fudge put her crayon down and crawled over to Sally, allowing the young attorney to pick her up, revealing a yellowish stain on the polished wooden floor. Fudge, while toilet-trained, still occasionally had accidents like this.

"Oh, baby!" Sally exclaimed softly, so not everyone could hear. "You've peed on the floor, haven't you?"

"Oh, Fudgie!" Luigi cried, moving her drawing out of the way before it could be soaked. "Is that what you were trying to tell Luigi?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry. I should have listened. It is okay." He kissed her.

But the stock car had noticed. "That's _disgusting_!"

"You're mean!" Fudge shouted. "Leave me alone!"

"Just ignore him, Fudge", Luigi whispered.

"You humans _are_ disgusting!" he insisted. "How are you not yet _extinct_?!"

Everyone gasped at the offensive comment.

Doc sighed, getting pretty fed up. "Go on, Sally."

Sally continued and held the five-year-old right where Doc could see her properly.

"And there's still one _very_ important reason for this road to be fixed! I think we all know what's gonna happen to our Fudge if-"

She was cut off by the race car, who had burst out laughing. "The kid's name is _Fudge_?! You've gotta be _kidding_!"

"Shut up!" the human girl hollered. "I bet _you_ have a stupid name!"

"What makes you say _that_?!" he retorted.

"Because you're a stupid _person_!"

" _Anyway_ ", Sally persisted, "as I was _saying_ , if there is no business in the town, I think we _all_ know what's gonna happen to our little Fudge."

Indeed they did. Everyone's hoods lowered. Doc's eyes softened. Luigi began to cry again. Fudge looked ready to cry as she clung to Sally. The race car looked all around suspiciously. How could no business in town _possibly_ impact a little girl?

"So, don't you think the car responsible should fix our road?" Sally quizzed the townsfolk.

"I think he should fix the road!" Fudge voiced her opinion. " _He_ broke it! If _I_ make a mess, _I_ have to clean it up!"

Sally smiled and nodded at the five-year-old before looking back at Doc. "Exactly."

"No one asked you, _Fudge_!" the delinquent road hazard hollered, saying the child's name as if it was the worst thing he could possibly call her.

"Hey! She's entitled to her opinion!" Sally defended her.

He ignored her. "And if you have to clean up any mess you make, why don't you start with _that_ mess?!" He gestured to the pee on the floor.

"The only guy strong enough to fix that road is Big Al!" Lizzie commented, which got the original conversation going again.

"Lizzie, Big Al left, like, fifteen years ago", Ramone reminded her.

"Then why are you bringing him up, you lemon?" the elderly car shot back, much to Ramone's confusion.

"Who's Big Al?" Fudge asked Luigi. She was pretty sure she'd heard the name somewhere, but she wasn't sure who he was.

"I will tell you later", Luigi whispered back.

"Oh, he can do it!" Sally assured everyone. "He's got the horsepower! So, what do you want him to do?"

" **FIX THE ROAD!** " Fudge yelled along with everyone else.

"Because we are a town worth fixing!" the young lawyer concluded.

At the end of her speech, everyone began to cheer. In fact, Doc had to honk his horn to get everyone to quieten down.

"Order in the court!" he yelled.

Everyone went silent.

"Seems like my mind has been changed for me", Doc admitted reluctantly.

More cheers followed and even some horns honking.

" _No_!" the culprit moaned.

"Nice ruling!" Fillmore remarked.

"Ha-ha!" Fudge stuck her tongue out at him.

The race car glared at Sally, who was smirking triumphantly as she put Fudge down, allowing the five-year-old to skip happily back to Luigi.

"Oh", he announced angrily, "I am _so_ not taking you to dinner!"

Sally laughed. "That's okay, _Stickers_! You can take _Bessie_!"

"Oh, man! You get to work with Bessie!" Mater exclaimed. "I'd give my left two lug nuts for somethin' like that!"

" _Bessie_?!" he repeated. "Who's Bessie?!"

"Me!" Fudge joked.

"I thought your name was _Fudge_!"

"I'm just kidding!" she laughed. "I _am_ Fudge! I'm not Bessie. That was just a joke."

He rolled his eyes. "Right..."

" _Now_ , this case is dismissed" Doc announced.

At those words, everyone started to file out of the courtroom, chattering away. Except for the race car himself, everyone was satisfied with the decision that had been reached.

Fudge was one of the last to leave, only doing so when Luigi called out to her that she needed to be cleaned up and required a change of pants and underwear. She had been eyeing the racer curiously. She'd never met anybody like him before and even she knew that he was bad news. And she got the feeling that he was far from done causing trouble.

 **How was that? Good? Please review.**

 **At this point in the movie, I was going for Fudge not _liking_ Lightning, but is curious because she's never met anybody like him. I'm not sure how well that turned out, though. Oh, by the way, if any of Fudge's dialogue seems kinda weird, remember that she's only five in this one. Five-year-olds say weird things, right?**

 **I think you may have noticed that the thing with the magnets is new. That's because it's something that I've only recently thought of. Since Fudge rides on the cars' hoods, I always figured that there had to be _some_ kind of safety measure in place. I personally think the magnets thing is kinda lame, but it's all I've got.**

 **Also, I wanna give credit to** **AceAttorneyFantic and Mason Topi for asking what Lightning's opinion on humans would be, considering that he's a jerk at this point during the movie. I was too busy focusing on making him think that Fudge was a baby (hence why I included the part of her peeing on the floor) that I was just like, "Wow! I didn't** **even _think_ of that!" So, I included a couple of little references to it. Thanks, guys!**

 **I think that's it besides the whole "please review, I don't own _Cars_ " thing.**


	7. Ferraris, Customers and a LOT of Trouble

**Hi, guys! Got a brand new and long chapter here for you! Please enjoy! :)**

 **Chapter 7- Ferraris, Customers and a** _ **Lot**_ **of Trouble**

" _Grazie_ , Fudge!" Luigi thanked his daughter as he took some tyres from her. "You have been a very big help, baby."

Fudge smiled broadly. "Really?!" She had wanted to help her fathers get all of the tyres back that had gone all over town the night before and put them back where they belonged. It always made her happy when she was told she'd done a good job.

Luigi returned the smile, nodding. "Yes." He gave her a kiss. "Why don't you go and play now? But be careful. The road is not safe."

She nodded. "Okay!" She ran inside and retrieved her soccer ball.

Fudge knew not to play soccer in the street anyway, so the road not being safe didn't have much of an impact on her. Occasionally, she would have to cross the street partway (carefully) to get her ball when it rolled away from her.

Soon, she decided to go over to the delinquent road hazard, who was reluctantly pulling Bessie, the road paving machine, down Main Street and ignoring Mater rambling on about anything and everything.

It had been a few hours since Doc's decision had been reached. The race car had been introduced to Bessie, but when Mater removed his parking boot to hook him up, he was out of there. He tore out of town, eager to pretend that it had all been a bad dream. However, he had no idea that Sheriff had siphoned his gas the night before. So, he ran out and, unfortunately for him, his escape attempt had failed miserably. Mater had to tow him back to Bessie against his will. However, Fudge missed all of that. She'd been busy getting cleaned up from her accident.

Now, looking around at the town, this guy was the only thing out of the ordinary. Sarge, Sheriff and Fillmore were at Flo's. Red was watering the flowers outside Casa Della Tires. Luigi and Guido were arguing over the placement of the tyre displays.

* * *

"Hi!" Fudge called to the race car cheerfully.

"What do you want, _Fudge_?"

"Just saying hi."

"Okay, _hi_. Now, leave me alone."

"Hi, Mater!" Fudge jumped up and down.

"Howdy, Fudge!" the tow truck returned her greeting.

"I got my ball!" She held it up. "Wanna play?"

"Sure!" he agreed.

"You ready?" Fudge dropped the ball on the ground and kicked it to him.

"You know, I used to be a purty good whistler", Mater informed the race car as he and Fudge kicked the ball back and forth. "I can't do it now, of course, on account of sometimes, I get fluid built up in my engine block, but Doc said he's gonna fix it. Oh, he can fix jus' 'bout anythin'. That's why we made him the judge. Boy, you shoulda heard me on 'Giddy-up, Oom Papa Mow-Mow'. Now, I'm not one to brag, but people come purty far to see me get low on the Mow-Mow."

Fudge had also been talking to the mysterious newcomer. She'd just been quoting stuff she'd heard on TV and movies that made absolutely no sense and he couldn't help but wonder if she was insane.

The racer was ignoring both of them, but got some of the tarmac from Bessie splashed all over his lightning bolt sticker.

"Oh, man!" he groaned. "That's just great!"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mater questioned, abandoning his game with Fudge to talk to him.

"My lucky sticker's all dirty!" he complained.

"Aw, that ain't nothin'!" Mater assured him. "I'll clean it for ya!" He began to snort, making Fudge giggle.

"No, no, no!" the delinquent road hazard exclaimed hurriedly. "That won't be necessary!" He noticed Red watering the flowers and called out to him. "Hey! Hey, big fella!" Red looked over. "Yeah, you in the red! I could use a little hose-down, help me wash this off!"

A very nervous and afraid Red clutched his precious flowers, growing in a tyre, and reversed off with them.

"Where's he going?" the red car questioned.

"Oh, he's just a little bit shy", Mater explained, "and he hates you for killin' his flowers."

"He doesn't like you!" Fudge sang.

"I shouldn't have to put up with this!" he exclaimed. "I'm a precision instrument of speed and aerodynamics!"

Mater and Fudge glanced at each other, confused. Neither of them understood anything he'd just said. "You hurt your what?" Mater asked.

" **I'M A VERY FAMOUS RACE CAR!** " the car exploded.

That attracted the attention of Luigi and Guido.

"You are a famous race car?!" Luigi gasped. "A _real_ race car?!"

" _Yes_ , I'm a real race car!" he snapped, annoyed. "What do you _think_? Look at me!"

"I have followed racing my entire life! My whole life!" Luigi declared, he and Guido beginning to get excited.

"Then you know who I am!" he exclaimed. "I'm Lightning McQueen!"

"Lightning McQueen?!" Luigi echoed ecstatically.

"Yes!" Lightning McQueen sounded happy and relieved. " _Yes_!"

"I must scream it to the world!" Luigi shouted. "My excitement from the top of someplace very high!" He took a breath. "Do you know many Ferraris?"

"Ferraris!" Fudge cried, grinning like crazy as she danced around. "I like Ferraris!"

Luigi smiled. "Yes you do." He gave his daughter a kiss.

"We watch the Ferrari races on TV, don't we?" Fudge went on.

"Yes we do." He gave her another kiss before turning back to Lightning. "Do you? Do you know many Ferraris?"

"No, no, no!" Lightning replied to Luigi's question. "They race in the European Circuit! I'm in the Piston Cup!"

He noticed that the two Italians no longer looked impressed.

"What?" he asked.

"Luigi follow only the Ferraris", the Fiat informed him, rolling off back to his store. Guido followed. "Fudge, stay away from him!" Luigi added.

Lightning sighed, feeling like he'd just blown his last chance to impress anybody around the town he was now stuck in.

"Lightning McQueen?" Fudge repeated. "Is that your name?"

" _Yeah_ ", he responded, sounding fed up with her. "It is!"

"That's a nice name", Fudge admitted.

"Yeah!" he scoffed. "Better than _Fudge_!"

She stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

"Is that what I think it is?!" came Flo's voice a couple of seconds later.

Sally looked in the same direction as the show car. "Customers?!" she gasped before shouting out, so everyone could hear. "Customers! Customers, everyone! Customers!"

A buzz of excitement went through the town, though they were eager to forget about the last time they thought they had a customer (Sally was relieved that it wasn't the same cars!). Fudge, however, was nervous. She'd only ever met new people on three occasions before. First was Sally and that was great. Second was the social workers and that kind of traumatised her. Third was Lightning and...

"Okay! All right, everybody, calm down!" Sally instructed. "It's been a long time! Just remember what we rehearsed! Make sure your 'Open, please come in' signs are out and you all know what to do! All right! Nobody panics! Here we go!"

Lightning turned to Fudge, who was the only one who hadn't run off to get ready for the customers. (Hell, what _could_ she have done? She didn't have a store or business. What could they want from _her_?) "What's the big deal over _one_ customer?" he wondered.

Fudge shrugged, dribbling her soccer ball around him. "We never get new people here", she explained. "Last time we had a new person around here was-"

" _Me_?!" Lightning cut her off, rolling his eyes.

"Well, first there was me and my mom, but now, it's just me. Then Sally. Then there were these mean people who were trying to-"

"Hey, kid?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Unfortunately, all the potential customers (two minivans- a lilac female and a dark green male) wanted was directions to the Interstate. Despite the townsfolk's efforts, they didn't accept any of the offers they were given. In fact, in all honesty, the harder they tried, the more they ended up creeping the minivans out and they were eager to get away as fast as they could. And as far away from Radiator Springs as they could.

"Psst!" Lightning called to them as they drove past on their way out of town (while Fudge looked sad that they weren't staying; maybe they could've been the ones to help her stay!). "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! I know how to get to the Interstate!"

The lilac one stopped. "Oh, do ya?"

"Minny, no." The green one, presumably her husband, also stopped.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" A pause. "No. Not really. But listen! I'm Lightning McQueen, the famous race car! I'm being held here against my will! And I need you to call my team, so they can come rescue me! And get me to California in time for me to win the Piston Cup! Do you understand?"

The two cars were giving him fake smiles and they locked their doors before driving off down the road.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, it's the truth!" he yelled after them, desperate for them to help him. "I'm telling you! You gotta help me! **DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! I'M IN HILLBILLY** **HELL! MY IQ'S DROPPING BY THE SECOND! I'M BECOMING ONE OF** _ **THEM**_ **!** "

"What's so bad about being one of _us_?" Fudge wondered. She was both offended and curious.

" _You_ wouldn't understand!" Lightning snapped at her. "You're just a baby!"

"I'm _not_ a baby!" Fudge shot back. "I'm _five_!" She held up five fingers.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever!" He wasn't in the mood for arguing.

"You know, Doc wouldn't have let you leave", Fudge informed him.

"Oh yeah?!" Lightning retorted. "Why not?!"

"He said you can't leave till you fix the road", she reminded the race car. "And you have to do a punishment when you get one. Like one time, I went out with Mater past my bedtime and I had to go to bed at six o'clock every night for a week."

"That's a great story!" he mumbled sarcastically. "I felt like I was there!"

The little girl ignored him. "You have to fix the road!" she repeated. "If you left before you did, you'd be in very big trouble!"

"With who?"

"With Doc! And Sally and everyone else! Sally wanted you to fix the road and Doc said-"

Lightning groaned and rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time. "Does this kid _ever_ shut up?!" he muttered to himself.

"I heard that!" Fudge called.

"What do _you_ know?!" Lightning retorted. "You don't understand anything!"

Fudge laughed. "You're really stupid!"

Lightning had had it. Why was he, _the_ Lightning McQueen, letting a _five_ -year-old of all people get away with talking to him like that?! "Get _lost_!"

He pushed her. Hard. He meant to push her hard, but still not as hard as he did. Fudge stumbled backwards from the force of the shove. She tripped over the soccer ball, which was lying on the ground not too far away. The child smashed her head up against one of the brick walls of an abandoned store before landing on the ground hard on her backside.

Immediately, Lightning cringed at the sight of the blood as Fudge started screaming and crying. Not that he really cared about what he'd just done. He just didn't like blood and the loud screaming was just annoying to him.

" **I HATE YOU!** " she screeched at the top of her lungs. " **I HATE YOU!** "

Things got worse for Lightning when Fudge's racket attracted the attention of the others. They had all been gathered in the middle of town, disappointed that the minivans hadn't become customers, when they heard Fudge and all of them came rushing over. Doc was the only one not there. Everyone else was crowded around the five-year-old.

 _Great!_ Lightning thought. _Now, they're all gonna be even_ more _pissed!_

Luigi picked her up immediately. "Fudgie!" he exclaimed as he, too, cringed, when he saw the blood. "What happened, baby?!"

Sally was the first to notice the blood that was staining the brick wall. "Oh, _Fudgie_! Did you hit your head on the wall?!" she asked sympathetically, gesturing to it.

" _Ouch!_ " The others winced in sympathy.

Fudge nodded and pointed an accusing finger at Lightning. "He _pushed_ me!"

" _What_?!" everyone gasped, glaring at the stock car.

"I... I didn't mean to-" he began.

Nobody was listening to him. They'd returned their attention to Fudge.

"Oh, man!" Ramone shouted, getting a proper look at her. "That doesn't look too good!"

None of them had ever seen so much blood before. It was gushing out of her head and dripping onto her jeans and T-shirt. Luigi, Guido, Red and Fillmore all looked just about ready to pass out just at the sight of it.

"Does it hurt?" Mater questioned, trying to be helpful.

Fudge nodded. "Luigi?" she whimpered, clinging to the yellow Fiat. "Am I gonna die?"

Inwardly, everyone sighed. They thought Fudge was done with this.

"Of _course_ not, stupid!" Lightning yelled at her. "You're _fine_ , you big baby!"

"Thank you!" Sally called to him in a tone that told him to stay out of the conversation.

"No, no, no, no!" Luigi and Guido assured her hurriedly and gently. Guido kissed the top of her head (not where it was bleeding, of course).

"It's okay, honey!" Flo added. "We're all here! We're gonna take care of you!"

Sarge turned to Flo. "Flo, you got washcloths in the café, right?" She nodded. "Go and get a damp one for Fudge."

"Can do!" The former show car sped off.

"And someone, let Doc know what happened!" Sally added.

"I'll do it, man!" Fillmore offered as he, too, hurried off.

Everyone else stayed behind to comfort the poor little girl.

Flo returned before Fillmore did and she had the damp washcloth. Guido took it from her, attempting to be both gentle and firm as he pressed it against his daughter's head where it was bleeding.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, _ow_!" Fudge shrieked, scrunching up her face in pain.

"(Does it sting?)" Guido questioned.

Fudge nodded. "Y- yeah... Yeah", she stammered. She cried harder.

"Okay!" Guido whispered soothingly. "Okay!"

"My poor baby!" Luigi cried.

"It's all right, soldier", Sarge assured her soothingly. "It's all right. Fillmore's getting Doc. He's gonna take care of that for you. You're gonna be okay."

"Where else does it hurt, sweetie?" Sally wanted to know.

"Here." Fudge showed them her right arm. "And here." She then lifted up her white T-shirt to show them her back. Both her arm and back had _lots_ of scrapes and a couple of bruises up and down them. It looked painful, but not _too_ bad.

Sally glared at Lightning again. "How _could_ you?!" she demanded, sounding appalled.

"Hey! It's not _my_ fault! I just _pushed_ her!" he protested. " _She_ was the klutz who tripped over the ball and-"

"So, you _did_ push her?!" Sally gasped.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"I hate him!" Fudge announced decisively. "I can't wait till he's gone!"

"I'd be gone already if it wasn't for _her_!" Lightning countered, gesturing to Sally accusingly. "I wanna get out of here more than you want me gone! So, if you want someone to blame for me being here, how about you-"

"All right!" Doc's voice boomed throughout the town as he rolled up with Fillmore right behind. He did _not_ sound happy. Fillmore had obviously told him the whole story. The citizens of Radiator Springs all parted to let Doc through to Fudge, who was still being held by Luigi. "Let's see what the damage is."

Guido was still stood by Fudge, but he had moved out of the way a little bit to let Doc get a better look and had moved the washcloth from her head.

"It hurts!" Fudge sobbed. "It hurts!"

"It is okay!" Luigi soothed her. "It is okay!"

"What happened?" Doc asked the five-year-old, softening immediately. Even though Fillmore had told him, he wanted to hear the whole story and he wanted to hear it from Fudge. Especially since Fillmore had admitted that he didn't actually _see_ what had happened.

It wasn't easy while she was crying, but Fudge managed to recount the whole story to Doc. From when the would-be customers left to that moment.

"Let me see, Fudge-O", Doc requested again, smoothing some of her brown hair out of the way to get a better look.

"Don't touch it!" she squealed hysterically.

"I'm not gonna touch it", Doc promised her soothingly. "I just wanna look..." He examined the large cut where the blood was coming from.

"Is it bad?" Sheriff wanted to know.

"Yeah..." Doc replied after a pause. "That's gonna need stitches." He wasn't looking forward to that. Giving Fudge her shots was bad enough. Giving her _stitches_ was another story.

"My poor baby!" Luigi repeated.

"But", Doc rushed on, "even so, it looks worse than it is. I shouldn't have any problems stitchin' that up." _If Fudge behaves, that is_ , he thought to himself. He checked her over to see if there were any other injuries on her. "She's a little scraped up too", he reported, indicating to her back and arm. "I'll take care of that too, but let's worry about her head first. That's the worst of it."

"Is it bad?" Fudge echoed Sheriff's question.

"You're gonna be fine", Sarge answered. "Doc's gonna take care of that. It may hurt a little, but you can be strong, can't you, soldier?"

Fudge nodded. "Yeah."

Sarge smiled at her. "Yeah. We know you can."

Doc turned to Luigi, Guido and Fudge. "You three are with me. _You_ ", he added, glaring at Lightning (and if looks could kill, the self-centred race car would've been dead and buried), "you keep workin'!" Then he really let the guy have it. "You know, considerin' what happened, _this_ ", he pointed to the blood on Fudge's head, "could've been a whole lot worse! You're just lucky it wasn't!"

Guido and Luigi, with Fudge still on his hood, followed Doc over to the clinic while Lightning got back to work on the road, albeit slowly.

* * *

"All right, kiddo", Doc began gently, "you've been very good so far. Now, I just got a little more to do..."

Fudge screamed like she was being tortured (everyone in town, even Lightning, could hear her, though he was the only one who took no pity on her) and tried to kick her legs madly, but Luigi held her ankles firm.

"It is okay!" the yellow Fiat assured her soothingly. "Luigi and Guido are here!"

"You're all right... you're all right..." Doc added.

" **NO!** " Fudge screeched. " **NO!** "

"I know, Fudge", Luigi whispered softly. "I know it hurts."

"Almost done", Doc promised her. "Almost done. Just hold still for me, Fudge. Hold still... hold still... That's it! Good girl!"

"You are so brave, Fudge!" Luigi declared.

Guido smiled at her sympathetically. He had the important job of holding Fudge's head still. His forks were cupping her chin as he held her still. At a loss for words, the little forklift just gave her a kiss. Fudge stared up at him, her big blue eyes filled with tears.

"Fudge, hold still", Doc instructed.

"I can't!" she wailed. "It _hurts_!"

"Well, I'm almost done", he assured her.

"Good girl." Luigi gave her a sympathetic rub on the foot.

"(Good girl)", Guido echoed.

"All right... That's it, Fudge!" Doc announced a few minutes later. "I'm done!"

Fudge opened her eyes. "Is it over?"

" _Si_." Guido kissed her again.

"Now, let's just wash your arm and your back. They're scraped up. See?" He showed her.

"Good girl", Luigi whispered soothingly throughout this task. "Good girl."

"It hurts!" she wailed. "My head still hurts!"

"I know it hurts", Doc responded. "You're bein' very good. Very brave."

"She _is_ very brave", Luigi agreed.

"There you go, Fudge-O", Doc announced when he was finished washing her cuts. "That's it. I'll remove the stitches in a couple days. It'll be itchy there for a while, but don't scratch, all right? You might pull the stitches out and that won't be good."

She nodded, sniffling. "Okay."

" _Grazie_ ", Luigi added.

" _Grazie_ ", Guido echoed.

"And I think I got somethin' for you, Fudge, since you've been so good." Doc produced a lollipop.

Fudge took it from him. "Thank you."

"Good girl." Luigi kissed her.

"Now", Doc announced, "you're free to go."

So, the two Italians and their daughter left the clinic. Fudge was still crying and everyone was angrier at Lightning after what he'd done to her. Little did they know, he was about to shock them yet again.

* * *

"I'm done!" he announced, referring to the road. The entire town except Mater and Doc were gathered at one end of town (they'd all been crowded around Luigi and Fudge, eager to find out how the latter was) and were all staring at him in disbelief. "Look, I'm finished! Just say thank you and I'll be on my way! That's all you gotta say."

Was he serious? The road looked _terrible_! Any idiot could see that! The asphalt was completely uneven, making it extremely bumpy, which Mater soon found out.

"Whee-hoo!" he cheered gleefully. "I'm the first one on the new road!" He rolled across it, vibrating like crazy, various bits of metal flying off him. "It rides purty smooth!"

"Even _I_ could do a better job than _that_!" Fudge declared, sniffling. She hadn't _quite_ stopped crying yet.

"It looks _awful_!" Sally exclaimed.

"Well, it matches the rest of the town!" Lightning sneered.

Sally gasped. Red burst into tears and sped off.

"Red!" Sally called after him, but he didn't stop, knocking over a stack of tyres on his way past the impound.

Fudge spat on Lightning.

"Oh, _ew_!" he shouted as the saliva hit his windshield. "That's _disgusting_! Do you _want_ me to push you into another wall?!"

"No, Fudgie!" Luigi scolded her. "We don't spit on people!"

"Not even if they're a big poo head?" she hiccupped.

Luigi tried not to laugh as he replied with, "Not even then."

Fudge slapped herself across the face, surprising Lightning. "No, Fudgie!" she scolded herself. " _No_!"

"No, no, no, no!" Luigi stopped her hurriedly. "You don't have to do that! Just don't spit, okay? It is not nice."

Fudge nodded, pouting. "Okay."

By that point, Sally seemed to recover from her shock and glared at Lightning.

"Who do you think you _are_?!" she demanded.

"Look", he answered, "Doc said when I finish, I could go! That was the deal!"

"The deal was you fixed the road!" Doc piped up, approaching from behind Lightning. "Not make it worse! You're already on thin ice after what you did to Fudge", he reminded him. "Now, scrape it off! Start over again!"

"Hey, look, Grandpa", Lightning retorted, "I'm not a bulldozer. I'm a race car."

"Oh, ho, ho!" Doc teased. "Is that right? Well, then, why don't we just have a little race? Me and you?"

Nobody could believe Doc had just suggested that.

"What?" Sally voiced everyone's surprise.

Lightning laughed. "Me and _you_?!" he repeated. "Is that a joke?"

"If you win, you go and _I_ fix the road", Doc informed him. "If _I_ win, you do the road my way."

"Doc, what are you doin'?" Sheriff questioned.

"No, Fudge, you have to leave your stitches alone", Luigi interrupted the conversation. (Fudge had been scratching.)

"I don't mean to be rude here, _Doc_ ", Lightning scoffed, "but you probably go zero to sixty in, like, what? Three point five _years_? At least give me a _challenge_! Why don't I race _Fudge_?!"

"Well, then, I reckon you ain't got nothin' to worry about", Doc responded.

"You know what, old timer? That's a wonderful idea. Let's race!"

"Go, Doc!" Fudge yelled.

"Okay, Fudgie", Luigi announced. "Let's get you cleaned up first. You are still covered in blood."

"Hold on, Fudge!" Doc called after them. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Okay!" Fudge leapt off Luigi's hood and onto Doc's.

Doc led Fudge away from the rest of the group.

"Listen to me, Fudge", he began, "this is very important. I don't want you talkin' about how I was a race car, all right?"

"But why?" Fudge wondered.

"I don't want everyone knowin' about that", he explained.

"But _why_?" Fudge repeated.

"Because I _don't_ , all right?"

Fudge shrugged. "Okay..."

"Good girl."

"I still want you to win."

"Well", Doc smirked at her, "you're just gonna have to wait and see."

 **Well, that's another chapter done. I based some of the weird stuff Fudge does off of stuff I did when I was younger. I was a weird child. And now, I'm a weird adult, so it's all okay. And poor Fudge. She** ** _really_** **hates Lightning now. Did you still like the chapter? Please review.**

 **Also, please check out my insert of Fudge in** ** _Mater and the Ghostlight_** **, which is part of my collection,** ** _Tales From Radiator Springs_** **.**

 **I think that's all I have to say. I'll see you in the next chapter or, most likely, I'll see you in a** ** _When Life Gives You Lemons_** **update first. Unless you're reading my stories chronologically. :)**


	8. Hudson vs McQueen

**Chapter 8- Hudson vs McQueen**

"Gentlemen", Sheriff began, "this'll be a one-lap race. "You will drive to Willy's Butte, go around Willy's Butte and come back."

Everyone in town had shown up for the race, including Red, who had recovered from his sadness. Well, they were _waiting_ for Luigi, Guido and Fudge as they seemed the most excited for this race. Guido and Luigi were decked out in their Ferrari gear, which included flags and afro wigs in the colours of the Italian flag. They'd even dressed Fudge in a Ferrari T-shirt (her parents were Guido and Luigi; of course she had one!) and a pair of denim shorts, since they'd needed to change her anyway after they'd cleaned her up from all the blood.

"There will be no bumpin'", Sheriff went on, "no cheatin', no spittin', no bitin', no road ragin', no maimin', no oil slickin', no pushin', no shovin', no backstabbin', no road hoggin' and no lollygaggin'."

"Speed, I'm speed", Lightning whispered to himself to pump himself up (not that he thought he needed to!). "Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer."

That was when Luigi, who was holding Fudge, and Guido came up to Lightning.

"Fudge, leave your stitches alone!" Doc called to the little girl, who was still scratching.

Luigi laughed. "My friend, Guido, he _dream_ to give a real race car a pit stop!"

"Peet stop!" Guido added excitedly.

"Pit stop!" Fudge chimed in.

"Uh..." Lightning chuckled. "The race is only one lap, guys. _Uno lappo_ ", he added, clearly trying to talk down on them. "Don't need any help. I work _solo mio_."

"Fine!" Luigi huffed. "Race _your_ way!" He headed back to the sidelines with an itchy Fudge. "Fudgie, _please_ leave your stitches alone!" the Fiat begged. "I _know_ it itches, but scratching it is only going to make it worse."

"Why are you being _nice_ to him?" Fudge quizzed him. "He was _mean_ to me!"

"And _you_ are supposed to be leaving your stitches alone", Luigi insisted.

Meanwhile, Guido was still rocking from side to side happily in front of Lightning.

"No pit stoppo", Lightning told him. "Comprendo?"

"Okay!" Guido drove off, joining his best friend and daughter.

Lightning shook his hood.

"Gentlemen!" Sheriff called. "Start... your... engines!"

Doc's engine clicked and sputtered as it started. Lightning scoffed and revved his engine really loud. Clearly, the townsfolk were impressed. Except for Fudge. She put her hands over her ears and whimpered. She didn't really like loud noises.

"Great idea, Doc", Sally muttered sarcastically. "Now, the road will _never_ get done."

"Luigi?" Sheriff moved over to the sidelines with the others as the _very_ excited Fiat put his daughter down and took Sheriff's place.

"Oh, ho, ho!" he chuckled. "On your mark, get set! _Uno_ for the money! _Due_ for the show! _Tre_ to get ready! And _quattro_ to... I can't believe it!... _**GO**_ **!** "

As fast as... lightning, Lightning took off. He sent dust flying. The group cheered like crazy. Until the dust cleared up and they realised something unusual.

"Huh?" Luigi stopped cheering and turned around, confused, to find that Doc hadn't moved. "Doc, the flag means go", Luigi reminded him, waving the Ferrari flag. "Remember the fl- Here we go. Go." He spoke in the same way he often spoke to Fudge whenever she was confused.

"Uh... Doc?" Ramone spoke up. "What are you doin', man?"

Everyone was confused. Especially Fudge. Doc was a _racer_! Why was he _trying_ to lose? This race was _his_ idea!

Doc sighed. "Oh dear!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "It would seem I'm off to a poor start. Well, better late than never. Come on, Mater!" he called to the tow truck. "Might need a little help."

"Uh..." Mater was as puzzled as everyone else. "Okay." He followed Doc down the dirt path.

"Can I come too?" Fudge asked. She wanted to know what Doc was up to.

Doc smiled. "Sure, kiddo."

"Yay!" Fudge cheered, running down the hill.

"Be careful", Doc cautioned, not wanting her to get hurt for the second time that day. He turned to Mater. "You got your tow cable?" he quizzed him.

"Well, yeah, I always got my tow cable. Why?"

"Oh, just in case."

Meanwhile, Lightning was roaring into the lead. He thought this race was his, without a doubt in the world. He was so close to reaching the finish line. He had one turn to go before he came back. This was what Doc had had planned. He knew Lightning wouldn't be able to turn on dirt! Instead of going left, he was sent flying over the edge of a small hill. Right into cacti!

Most of the townsfolk winced in sympathy, but were amused as well.

"Oh, man!" Ramone exclaimed.

"Bad trip, man!" Fillmore added.

"That's gotta hurt!" Fudge cried from next to Doc. She knew from experience how painful cacti was.

Lightning tried to reverse out of the cacti, but couldn't. He was stuck.

"Hey!" Doc called down to him. "Was that floatin' like a Cadillac? Or was that stingin' like a Beemer?! I'm confused!"

Mater chuckled.

"Stinging like a Beemer!" Fudge declared, giggling and clapping her hands in delight. "That was stinging like a Beemer, Doc! See?!" She pointed to Lightning and the predicament he was in. "He got stung by the cactuses!" **(AN: I know that the plural to** _ **cactus**_ **is** _ **cacti**_ **, but remember, Fudge is only five, so she doesn't know that.)**

"You drive like you fix roads!" Doc continued. " _Lousy_! You were right! Maybe I _should_ have had you race Fudge. At least _she_ can run on dirt!" He started to drive off. "Have fun fishin', Mater. And Fudge, if you can't leave your stitches alone, I'm gonna get a cone like the ones dogs have and I'm gonna make you wear it", he added at the sight of her scratching.

Fudge giggled nervously. The idea was kinda funny _if_ Doc was kidding, but if he _wasn't_...

Mater shot out his tow hook and grabbed hold of Lightning, who gasped and jumped in surprise.

"I'm startin' to think he knowed you was gonna crash!" Mater announced, laughing.

"Thank you, Mater", Lightning deadpanned. "Thank you."

"That was funny!" Fudge shrieked with laughter as she ran off, catching up to the Hudson Hornet. "Hey, Doc! I'll race you back!"

Doc laughed. "You're on, kiddo!"

Fudge sprinted back to the finish line. Doc knew that he could easily beat the five-year-old, but went easy on her to let her win since Fudge was very sensitive and would probably get upset if she didn't win. Other times, she'd just insist that she wasn't racing whenever she lost.

Luigi waved his Ferrari flag and beamed. "Yes! Fudge Rossi-Topolino is the winner!"

The girl, out of breath, grinned ecstatically. "I won! I _won_!"

The others crowded around, cheering for the baby of their family and hugging her in congratulations.

"Mater!" Fudge exclaimed happily when he returned, towing Lightning. "Guess what! Guess what! I won! I won the race!"

"Way to go, Fudge!"

"You did _not_!" Lightning intervened. "You weren't even racing! And even if you were, humans are slow! There's no _way_ you could've won!"

"Hey!" Doc barked. "Leave the kid alone, will ya?"

"So... if you didn't win, does that mean I can go?" Lightning asked hopefully.

"No", Doc responded. "You didn't win either. And out of the two of us, I _did_ win. So, back to work, _rookie_."

Lightning scowled at him.

"Ha-ha!" Fudge jeered, sticking her tongue out.

The stock car's glare shifted to the little girl. So, she ran away before he could hurt her again. Luckily, that wasn't gonna happen. Doc had Mater hook him up again and tow him back into town.

* * *

A deal was a deal. Pretty soon, Lightning was back to work, scraping the awful road off to start all over again. As darkness filled the sky, indicating the end of a long day, Fudge sat on Ramone's hood as they, Sarge, Fillmore, Flo and Mater parked by Flo's and watched Lightning scrape the road off.

"I can make a little turn on dirt", he muttered to himself bitterly. "You think. _No_! And now, I'm a day behind! I'm _never_ gonna get out of here!"

"Hey, _ése_!" Ramone called to him. "You need a new paint job, man!"

"No, thank you!" Lightning replied.

"How about some organic fuel?" Fillmore suggested.

"That _freak juice_?!" Sarge scoffed.

"Pass!" Lightning responded and Sarge shook his hood at Fillmore.

"Whew! Watchin' him work is makin' _me_ thirsty!" Flo remarked. "Anybody else want somethin' to drink?"

"Nah, not me, Flo", Mater replied. "I'm on one of them there special diets! I'm a precisional instrument of speed and aero-matics!"

"I'm thirsty too!" Fudge piped up. "Can I have a drink please?"

"Okay, honey, I'll get you some juice."

"'You race like you fix roads!'" Lightning mimicked Doc as he continued his task. He grunted, pushing forward. "I'll show him. I will _show_ him!"

* * *

"Fudgie?" Luigi called as he and Guido approached the group ten minutes later.

"Hi, Luigi!" she called. "Hi, Guido!"

Luigi turned to Ramone. "Has she been scratching?"

"No. She's been very good."

"Well, that is good." Luigi picked her up.

"I'm a good girl."

"Okay, then can you be a good girl and come with me?" Luigi questioned. "We are taking you home now and you are going to bed."

"But why?" Fudge wondered, confused, afraid and upset. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"I know, baby", Luigi assured her. "It is not a punishment. I just want you to get some sleep. You have had a late night, an early morning and a long day."

"But I'm not sleepy!" Fudge ended that sentence with the biggest yawn any of them had ever heard from a five-year-old, making everyone laugh. Everyone except Lightning, that is.

"Okay, I think you _really_ need to go to bed", Luigi chuckled.

"But what about dinner?" Fudge wondered.

"(We will make you a sandwich)", Guido answered. "(You can eat that and _then_ you can go to bed. Does that sound good?)"

Fudge nodded. "Okay."

For some reason, Lightning looked surprised that Fudge could understand Italian.

"Wait!" he exclaimed suddenly, looking at Luigi and Guido. "She's _your_ kid?!" He'd just assumed that Fudge had parents _somewhere_ in the town and that Guido and Luigi were just babysitting her or something. Then he remembered things he'd heard that day. " _You could have hurt my_ _daughter!" "My poor baby!" "Well, first there was me and my mom, but now, it's just me_." Then he thought about how close they seemed. And it finally clicked.

Everyone stared at him. Now, _they_ were the ones who were surprised.

"Yes", Luigi replied finally, as if the answer was obvious.

"But where are her parents?"

"We _are_ her parents."

"You know what I mean!" Lightning snapped rudely.

Luigi paused. So did everyone else. "Fudge's parents are... not here."

He was hoping Lightning wouldn't ask any more questions about it because Fudge was very sensitive about that topic. Luckily, he didn't, but his next question took Luigi by surprise.

"So... you're _both_ her fathers? Are you gay?"

The Fiat's eyes widened. "No!" he cried. "No! We are just friends!"

"Friends who have a kid together?"

"It is a long story", Luigi explained, not wanting to get into it in front of Fudge.

"It always is!" Lightning sneered.

"What does _gay_ mean?" Fudge wanted to know.

"I will tell you another time", Luigi informed her. "Because you are supposed to be in bed. Say good night, Fudge."

"Good night, Fudge!" she repeated, giggling, making the others laugh.

"Night-night, Fudge!" they all replied as she waved goodbye.

* * *

"Okay, Fudge, go to sleep", Luigi whispered to his daughter later that night as he found her sat up in bed in her pyjamas, unable to sleep. He lay her back down and tucked her in once again.

"Okay... Luigi?"

"Yes, Fudge?"

"Where _is_ my mother?" Their conversation with Lightning had started up those thoughts again.

"Fudgie!" Luigi took her hand. "You know I would answer that for you if I could, but I don't _know_. I wish I knew, but I _don't_."

"Do you think she _wants_ me? Do you think she misses me?"

"I don't know", Luigi repeated. He hoped she did, but he had no idea. "But Fudge, _please_ don't think about it too much. I don't blame you for wanting to know these things, but you will always have a family who loves you."

"Even when I leave town?"

Despite how upset the thought made him, Luigi managed a smile. "Even then. You may be far away, but I- and everyone else- will _always_ love you. Never, ever forget that."

"I won't", Fudge promised.

"Oh, great!" Lightning's angry voice came from outside after the sound of Bessie sloshing her tarmac all over him. "I _hate_ it! **HATE, HATE, HATE,** _ **HATE**_ _ **IT**_ **!** "

"I don't like him", Fudge declared.

"Neither do I", Luigi agreed.

"He's mean."

"I know. _No one_ hurts my daughter and gets away with it!"

Fudge smiled.

"You were a very brave girl today, Fudgie", Luigi added, kissing the top of her head.

"Really?"

Luigi nodded sincerely. "Really. How _is_ your head?"

"It still hurts a little... Luigi? Can you please kiss it better?"

Luigi hesitated since Fudge wasn't supposed to touch her stitches and neither was anybody else except Doc. But what harm could come from one little kiss?

"Radiator Springs!" Lightning shouted sarcastically from outside while Luigi was still quiet. "A happy place! Oh, okay, Bessie! You think that's funny?! Great! I'm talking to Bessie now! **I'M TALKING TO** _ **BESSIE**_ **!** "

Luigi kissed Fudge's stitches _very_ lightly and her smile expanded. "Yeah... That helped."

Luigi smiled. "I'm glad it did."

"Luigi?"

"Yes, Fudge?"

"How long will he be here?" Fudge didn't have to clarify who _he_ was. Luigi knew exactly who she meant.

"Until he fixes the road, baby", Luigi answered.

"But why does he have to stay?" Fudge wanted to know. "I wanted him to be in trouble, but now, I just want him to leave."

"I know you do, but he needs to fix the road. And _we_ need him to fix the road. Besides, it is a good lesson for him."

"What lesson?"

"He cares only about himself, Fudgie", Luigi explained. "He does not care about you or me or anyone else."

"That's not nice", Fudge commented.

Her father smiled. "Exactly. And that is what he has to learn. There is only so much one person can do on their own." The yellow Fiat sighed. "Okay." He gave her another kiss, this time, on the top of her head. "I will let you get some sleep. It has been a long day for all of us."

Fudge returned the kiss on his Fiat symbol. "Night, Luigi. I love you."

"Good night, Fudgie. I love you too."

 **'Nother chapter done! Oh, and if you've read my short story, _My Heart Will Go On_ in my _Tales From Radiator Springs_ collection, you may recognise some parts of this chapter from that! :)**

 **Yeah... As you can tell by this chapter, I don't actually ship Luigi and Guido. Neither they nor I have any problem with gay people. I just don't picture them as gay, that's all.**

 **So... that's about it. Please review.**


	9. The Other Side

**I hope you guys don't think I'm abandoning this story! I've been so focused on getting _When Life Gives You Lemons_ out that I don't really update this one. Then once these are all finished, I can start writing my original story, _Ride_ (if I get the ideas for; if you want you can look under the "Coming Soon" part of my profile to see what I've got for that so far), and after that, I can publish Fudge in _Cars 3_!**

 **In the meantime, please enjoy this chapter.**

 **Chapter 9- The Other Side**

Guido and Luigi both fell asleep shortly after Fudge. They didn't get to sleep for long, though. It was only about ten, fifteen minutes before they heard it. Fudge was screaming again. They knew. She was having another nightmare. Neither of them wasted a second springing into action, hurrying into their daughter's bedroom.

As they expected, Fudge was sat in bed, bawling her eyes out.

"Oh, _Fudgie_!"

"It was really bad!" she wailed.

"Was there something different about this one?" Luigi wondered since all of them seemed pretty bad. There was no need for Fudge to tell them that.

"I... I... got sent away from Radiator Springs!" Fudge sobbed. "And I had to live with... with that mean race car! He... all he did to me was push me into walls all day and shove needles into me! I was so scared! I _know_ I won't end up with _him_ because I'll end up with humans, but... But what if they _are_ mean to me?" She cried harder.

Pretty soon, the only sound that could be heard throughout Casa Della Tires was Fudge crying. Luigi and Guido often found it hard to know what to say to her when she had these nightmares. She was going to leave. There was nothing they could say or do to change that. Or make it easier for her. All they could do was hold her and let her cry and hold back their own tears. If Fudge saw _them_ cry, it would only make things worse.

* * *

Again, the two Italians fell asleep over their daughter's bed, but they were gone by the time Fudge woke up. Sunlight poured through the five-year-old's curtains and the first thing she heard was the sound of Mater laughing outside.

"Fudgie!" Luigi called ecstatically. "Come and look at this!"

Still in pyjamas, the little girl ran outside where the rest of the townsfolk were and she couldn't believe what she saw.

A road. A perfectly shiny and smooth stretch of road. Fudge placed her feet on it tentatively. It was the smoothest surface she had ever felt in her short life. She couldn't believe it. Not just the surface of the road, but how _Lightning_ was the one who did it! It was hard to believe that this was the same car! Maybe they were starting to see another side of him...

" _E bellissima_!" Luigi exclaimed. "It's beautiful! Guido, Fudge, look! It's like it was paved by angels! _Oh_!"

"It _is_ nice!" Fudge agreed. "And _I'm_ an angel!"

Luigi giggled and kissed her. "Yes you are!"

"Boy, I tell you what!" Mater shouted as he looped across the road. "I bet even the roads on the moon ain't this smooth!"

Pretty soon, the whole town was enjoying the smoothness of the new road.

"Guido! Fudgie!" Luigi called excitedly as Mater towed him across the smooth asphalt. "Look at Luigi!" He let go and started spinning around. "This is _fantastico_!"

Everyone was having a great time until...

"Hey, Luigi!" Lizzie called as she rolled past. "This new road makes _your_ place look like a _dump_!"

Luigi groaned. "That crazy old devil woman!" But then he got teary as he realised the truth of her words. "She's right! Guido!"

"Poor Luigi!" Fudge gave him the biggest hug that she could.

Luigi smiled. "It is okay, baby. We will fix this place up."

"Can I help?"

Luigi's smile expanded. "If you want to, Fudge."

"Yay!" she cheered.

* * *

"Hey, sweetie!" Sally greeted Fudge warmly a couple of hours later once everyone had headed off home after enjoying the new road. "How's your head?"

"Better!" she answered happily.

"But she had another nightmare last night", Luigi chimed in.

"Poor baby!" Sally gave her a kiss.

"But I'm okay now!" Fudge insisted with a yawn.

"But you are tired", Luigi pointed out, scooping her up.

"Yes she is", Sally agreed.

"Well, I think this one needs to get to bed, so she can take a nap", Luigi announced as Fudge leaned against him heavily, yawning loudly. Now, that she was nearly six, they were trying to get Fudge out of the habit of taking naps, but it was hard when she wasn't sleeping at night due to her horrific nightmares. So, they figured that letting her have them occasionally if she really had to couldn't hurt.

Sally smiled. "Well, she's already in her pyjamas."

"Come on, Fudgie." Luigi carried her off to bed.

* * *

So, Fudge slept for a couple of nightmare-free hours and when she woke up, she found Guido and Luigi getting paint and soapy water, which they were going to use to fix up their store.

"Can I help?" she asked again.

Guido and Luigi both smiled at her. "Do you want to help, Fudge?" the latter questioned.

She nodded eagerly.

"Okay..." He found a really old shirt for her to wear if she was gonna be doing a messy project. It was so big that it looked like a dress on her. Luigi put it on his daughter over her pyjamas and then the three of them got to work.

Guido and Luigi weren't a hundred per cent sure if Fudge would enjoy washing the windows with Luigi. Still, they didn't particularly want her doing the painting since they were worried that more paint would end up on the ground or their daughter than the store. It didn't matter, anyway. Fudge was perfectly happy to help Luigi.

"Oh, Guido!" Sally exclaimed from behind them. " _E bellissimo_!"

Guido stopped. " _Che cosa_?"

"It looks _great_!" Sally informed him. "This is great!"

"Ah! _Ti piace_ , eh? _Si, si, bellissimo_!"

" _Si, si, bellissimo_!" Fudge echoed as she and Luigi came out of the shop.

Guido smiled and gave her a big kiss.

"Have you been helping, Fudgie?" Sally asked. She had noticed the little girl was wearing her work shirt and it was soaking wet from helping Luigi.

Fudge beamed and nodded. "I'm a good helper!" she announced proudly.

"I'll bet you are!" Sally laughed.

" _Si_ ", Guido agreed, kissing his daughter again.

Fudge kissed him back.

* * *

Once they had finished fixing up their store, all three residents admired their work. It looked _awesome_!

"We did a good job!" Fudge declared.

Luigi smiled. "Yes we did."

Fudge took off the shirt, grabbed Moo-Moo and ran down the road with him on a quest to find Mater. She spotted the race car, hooked up to Bessie once again and paving the road. He had cacti all over him.

"While I'm stuck here, paving this stinking road", he grumbled to himself, "Chick's in California, schmoozing Dinoco! _My_ Dinoco!"

"Hi!" Fudge called to him cheerily.

"Oh, great!" he groaned under his breath. He glared at her and spoke louder. "What do you want, Fudge?"

"Do you wanna go to California?"

"Yeah. I wanna go to California! I'd take _anywhere_ over this hillbilly hell, but I _really_ gotta get to California, so I can win the Piston Cup!"

"I wanna go to California too", Fudge informed him. "That's where Disneyland is!"

"Good for you!"

"No it's not", Fudge disagreed. "Because I haven't been yet!"

Lightning rolled his eyes. "Whatever!"

Fudge was silent for a moment and Lightning was convinced that she'd given up trying to talk to him. But then...

"Hey, Lightning?"

Another groan. " _Now_ , what?!"

"What's the Piston Cup?" she wanted to know.

"It's the most important racing competition _ever_!" Lightning insisted. "I can't believe none of you have ever heard of it! Or know who _I_ am!"

"Did you know that Doc-" Fudge began.

"For the love of Chrysler, I _do not care_!" he snapped, not at all sympathetic when she whimpered. "Can't you take the hint that I don't care?!"

Looking like she was about to cry, Fudge was about to walk off, but then she stopped and studied Lightning closely.

"Why are you covered in cactuses?" she asked.

"I don't know. Why are _you_ in your pyjamas _now_?"

"I had a nap!" Fudge responded, taking a step back from him. She didn't want to be pushed into another wall.

"Good thinking, kid", Lightning snapped. _Finally!_ he thought, relieved. _She's leaving!_ "Why don't you just run along and play and leave me the hell alo- Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed abruptly. "Who's touching me?!"

Fudge giggled.

Guido popped out from Lightning's rear tyre, which he had just been cleaning as Luigi appeared, kissing Fudge, who returned the affection.

"You have a slow leak", the yellow Fiat informed Lightning. "Guido, he fix. You make such a nice new road. You come into my shop, Luigi take-a good care of you, even though you not a Ferrari. You buy four tyres, I give you a full size spare absolutely free!"

"Look, I get _all_ my tyres for free", Lightning answered, sounding rather bored.

Luigi zoomed around the other side of Lightning. "Oh, ho, ho! I like your style, eh?" Luigi laughed. "You drive the hard bargain. Okay. Luigi make you a new deal. You buy one tyre, I give you three for free."

"No", Lightning refused flatly. "I told you. I get all my tyres for free. I'm not interested."

"Then Luigi make you a _new_ , new deal."

"No, no, no, no, no. Deal me out. Pass. No thank you."

"No, no, no, no, no", Luigi insisted.

Fudge wondered why Luigi was so insisting on Lightning buying tyres. What happened to " _No one_ hurts my daughter and gets away with it"? Then she looked around at the town. In a few short hours, Radiator Springs had changed so much. Luigi and Guido hadn't been the only ones fixing up their stores and surrounding areas. Red was using his hose to wash the Leaning Tower of Tires (the tall stack of tyres outside of Luigi's, resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy). Flo and Ramone were having the fence to their garage repainted. Ramone had also fixed the broken window in his shop, which had been broken about six months earlier when Fudge and Mater were playing soccer. Fudge remembered that she had cried when she broke it, feeling guilty. Well, now, the window had been fixed as well. And Fudge hadn't really seen Sarge or Fillmore all day. Were they also fixing their places up? Probably. Maybe this guy really was having an impact on their time. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

"This is it, my last offer", Luigi told Lightning. "You buy _one_ tyre. I give you seven-a snow tyres for free! Done! You interested, you call me. You know where I am."

Luigi sped off with Guido following.

Lightning sighed with relief once they left. But his relief didn't last long. He was blasted with a cool jet, much to his surprise and Fudge's delight. She laughed hysterically as the race car yelped.

"Oooh, Red, you missed a spot", Sally observed once the water stopped. "See it right there? On the hood..."

"No! No, no, no!" Lightning protested as Red blasted him again.

"Go, Red!" Fudge cheered, bouncing up and down as she laughed and clapped her hands.

"Stop!" Lightning shouted. "That's cold!"

Finally, Red _did_ stop. He sprayed the giggling Fudge a little bit, playfully, before switching the hose off.

"Thanks, Red."

The fire truck smiled and drove off.

"What was _that_ for?!" Lightning demanded.

"Do you wanna stay at the Cozy Cone or what?" Sally asked.

Lightning was confused. "Huh?"

"I mean, if you do, you gotta be clean", Sally went on. "'Cause even here, in hillbilly hell, we have standards."

"What? I... I don't get it."

"Nothing", Sally answered. "I just thought I'd say thank you for doing such a great job. So, I thought I'd let you stay with me." Then Sally realised what she'd just said. "I mean, not _with_ me. But there. Not with me there, but there in your own Cozy Cone and I'd be in _my_ cone and it's..."

"Wait. Wait. You're being _nice_ to me", Lightning realised.

"I mean if you wanna stay at the dirty impound, that's... that's fine. You know, I understand you criminal types-"

"No, no, no!" he assured her. "That's okay. Yeah, the Cozy Cone."

"It's newly refurbished", Sally explained.

Lightning chuckled. "Yeah, it's like a clever little twist. The motel's made out of caution cones, which of course, cars usually try to avoid. But now, we're gonna stay in them." He chuckled some more. "That's funny."

Sally gave him a Look. "Figure that out all on your own, did you? Congratulations. You almost got it as fast as Fudge."

Fudge glanced at the Porsche at the sound of her name. "What?"

Sally rolled off, calling, "Cone number one if you want!"

"Hey!" Lightning called after her softly. "Do I spy a little pin striping tattoo back there?"

"Oh!" Sally exclaimed, embarrassed, turning around. "That's just..." She reversed into a stack of cones, knocking one onto her roof, which made the Porsche laugh.

"Nice hat, Sally!" Fudge giggled.

"Oh! Oh, you saw that?" she laughed nervously. "Just gonna be going... gonna... Yeah..."

Lightning smiled as he watched her go, but was snapped out of his thoughts by Fudge giggling.

"What's so funny?!" he demanded.

"You guys should just kiss already!" Fudge answered.

"What are you talking about?"

"You love Sally, you love Sally!" Fudge chanted.

"No I _don't_!" Lightning insisted. "And keep your mouth shut! What if she hears you?!"

Fudge just laughed like crazy.

"You know I once knew this girl, Doreen", a new voice spoke up, making Lightning jump. It was Mater. "Good-lookin' girl. Looked just like a Jaguar. Only she was a truck! You know, I used to crash into her just so I could spoke to her."

Lightning gave him a _WTF_ look. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't know", Mater responded. "Hey, I know somethin' we can do tonight because I'm in charge of watchin' ya!"

"No, Mater", Lightning declined. "I gotta finish this road and I have... to get... out... of here."

"Well, that's all right, Mr. I Can't Turn On Dirt", Mater countered casually. "You probably couldn't handle it anyway."

"Whoa, whoa! Easy now, Mater! You know who you're talkin' to! This is Lightning McQueen!" he reminded him. " _I_ can handle anything."

"Mater?" Fudge piped up. "Wanna play Tag?"

Mater smiled back at her. "Sure, Fudge."

Fudge turned to Lightning. "Do _you_ wanna play with us?"

"No thank you", Lightning responded in a tone that said he'd rather do _anything_ else. Including pave the road.

But Fudge didn't pick up on that. "Are you sure?"

He rolled his eyes. " _Yes_. I'm sure. Now, go off and play. I'm busy, kid!"

Fudge shrugged. "Okay."

Then she and Mater ran off to begin a game.

 **Okay. That's another chapter up. Do I need to update this one more often? Or is it okay? I mean, I've already written the whole story (same with _When Life Gives You Lemons_ ). I just try not to update too often to leave you guys with something to look forward to.**

 **Even so, you have _Ride_ and _Run That Race_ (Fudge in _Cars 3_ ) to look forward to. Although, I hope the latter isn't a major disappointment. I'm working on it now and I feel like all Fudge really does at the moment is talk every now and then. Still, I'm gonna work on it and try to beef up her role a little bit. Or, at least, add some more original scenes, so I don't bore you all to death with it.**

 **Okay, okay. I probably shouldn't get ahead of myself here. So... Please review, okay? :)**


	10. Dreams, Nightmares and Promises

**Good morning, afternoon, evening or night! I have this new chapter for you all! In case you missed it in my last update of _When Life Gives You_ _Lemons_ , I made an announcement. In this story, that one and Fudge in _Cars 3_ (coming soon), I decided to include Easter Eggs to each of the following: **

**1\. A113 (any Pixar fan would know what _that_ is!)**

 **2\. The official release date of the movie I am writing about**

 **3\. The date I saw the movie I am writing about at the movies**

 **Don't worry. I haven't included any in this story yet and I'll reveal all of the answers in the last update of all three stories just in case you miss any (especially since I think number 3 won't be easy to find).**

 **So, keep an eye out for those and enjoy this new chapter!**

 **Chapter 10- Dreams, Nightmares and Promises**

Mater and Fudge played Tag for a couple of hours, some of the other residents joining in for a little bit. When the game ended, everyone headed over to Flo's for a bite to eat before returning back to their stores. Luigi and Guido were going to be busy, sorting some other stuff out to try and improve their shop. So, they asked Sally if she could watch Fudge for a few hours while they did all of that, including possibly putting her to bed, depending on what time they were done. Sally agreed.

The five-year-old girl sat quietly in the Cozy Cone lobby with Sally, drawing some pictures of animals when Sally asked abruptly, "Are you okay?"

Fudge nodded, not looking up from her drawing. "Yeah. Why?"

"You just seem quiet tonight, that's all." She paused before adding, "Luigi tells me you had another nightmare last night."

"Yeah..." Fudge's shoulders slumped.

She was still drawing, but her entire body language had changed. So, Sally was concerned. Gently, she took the crayon in Fudge's hand away from her. "Sweetie? Are your nightmares bothering you?"

" _Yes_. Because I'm gonna be leaving soon... Where was I gonna go again? If they don't find any humans for me to live with?" She couldn't say find her _family_ because the cars in Radiator Springs _were_ her family.

"Wisconsin", Sally replied.

"Where's that?"

The Porsche pulled out a map of the United States that she had. "We are here." She pointed to a spot in Arizona. "And Wisconsin... is... _here_." She pointed to a different, distant spot on the map.

"That's really far."

"I know..." Sally agreed sadly, kissing her lightly.

"Would I ever see any of you guys again?" Fudge wondered.

A pause followed.

"I don't know", Sally admitted quietly. "I hope so. Maybe ACAFCA would be able to arrange something, so you can keep in touch with us and maybe even see us every now and then."

"It wouldn't be the same", Fudge declared.

"I know it wouldn't, but it's better than never seeing us again, isn't it?"

The human girl nodded and Sally gave her a sympathetic smile and a kiss.

Since Fudge was still upset, Sally read her stories until she fell asleep. She was alone in her office till she saw some car lights go past. Could it be...

"Customers!"

She was quick to switch on the neon lights outside the Cozy Cone Motel. Only the sign showed up as NO VACANCY. That wasn't right. She groaned to herself as she struggled to fix it, waking Fudge up in the process.

"What are you doing?" the little girl mumbled.

"Oh!" The Porsche turned around. "Sorry, Fudgie. I didn't mean to wake you."

That was when they heard Mater's contagious laughter. "Tomorrow night, we can go look for the Ghostlight!" he suggested to Lightning.

"I can't wait!" Lightning replied unenthusiastically.

"Oh, yeah, I'm tellin' ya!" Mater exclaimed. "Oh, boy, you gotta admit that was fu- _un_!"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah." Lightning still didn't sound like he'd had as good a time as Mater.

"Where did _they_ go?" Fudge wondered.

"I don't know, sweetie", Sally answered. "Maybe Mater wanted to take Stickers tractor tipping", she suggested, chuckling to herself. The idea of a big city race car going tractor tipping was pretty funny.

"What's tractor tipping?" Fudge wanted to know.

"Never mind."

All of a sudden, Mater burst out laughing again. "You're in love with Miss Sally!" he informed Lightning.

Sally's eyes widened. _What?!_

"No, I'm not!" Lightning argued.

"Yes you do!"

"Yes you do!" Fudge hollered out the window.

Lightning looked in the direction of the shout, but saw no one. "Fudge?"

"Fudge is right!" Mater insisted.

"No way!"

"Way!"

"Come on, look..."

But Mater wasn't listening.

"You're in love with Miss Sally!" Mater chanted over and over again, jumping in front of Lightning and driving backwards down the road.

"Okay, that's really mature, Mater!" Lightning groaned. "Real grown-up!"

Fudge giggled. The reason Lightning hadn't been able to see her was because Sally had pulled her back and hidden her.

"What are you and Mater talking about?" the Porsche demanded.

"He loves you!"

Sally scoffed at the idea. "No he doesn't!"

Fudge nodded seriously. "Yes he does!"

"You love her!" Mater went on. "You love her."

"Wait-" Lightning began.

Only Mater wouldn't stop. He kept repeating, "You love her, you love her."

"Okay, Mater, Mater, enough!" Lightning cut him off finally.

The tow truck just laughed.

"Will you stop that?"

"Stop what?" Mater asked innocently.

"That driving backwards stuff. It's creeping me out. You're gonna wreck or something."

Mater stopped. "Wreck? Shoot! I'm the world's best backwards driver!" he proclaimed. "You just watch this right here, lover boy!"

With that, Mater switched his cab light on and shot off down the road, hollering with glee. Fudge grinned and jumped up and down excitedly from her spot inside the Cozy Cone where she was witnessing Mater's crazy actions.

Lightning couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What are you doing?! Watch out, watch out!" he called worriedly as Mater headed straight for a Cozy Cone. However, Mater knew what he was doing and avoided the cone. "Mater? Mater!"

"Yay! Go, Mater!" Fudge cheered.

The tow truck weaved through the cones and surrounding area. Then he came out and spun around like crazy.

"Hey! Take it easy, Mater!" Lightning called.

Mater stopped finally and darted into the trees. It was hard to see the tow truck except for the cab lights flashing amongst the trees. Out of nowhere, he leapt up over the trees, so that it looked like he was level with the moon from where Lightning was.

Lightning chuckled. "He's _nuts_!"

Fudge turned to Sally. "Sally?"

"Yes, Fudge?"

"Can I go say hi to Mater?"

"Sure, sweetie", the Porsche replied, knowing that Fudge would be in sight the whole time. "Just be careful."

So, Fudge ran out of the Cozy Cone and made her way over to Lightning. "Hi!" she greeted him happily.

"Hey, Fudge!" he replied, sounding quite sincere.

"Ain't no need to watch where I'm goin'!" Mater announced as he made his way back to Fudge and Lightning. He did a jump, so that he turned around and faced them once again. "Just need to know where I've been", he concluded, turning his cab lights off.

Fudge clapped.

"Whoa! That was incredible!" Lightning cried. "How did you _do_ that?!"

"Rearview mirrors", Mater explained, wagging them. "We'll get you some and I'll teach you if you want."

"Yeah, maybe I'll use it at my big race", Lightning commented as he began driving down the road in front of the other two.

"What's so important about this race of yours anyway?" Mater wondered.

Lightning stopped. He reversed and faced the tow truck and human once again.

"It's not just a race", he insisted. "We're talking about the _Piston Cup_! I've been dreaming about it my whole life! I'll be the first rookie in history _ever_ to win it!" He rolled off, facing away from them again. "And when I do, we're talking _big_ new sponsor with private helicopters."

"What's a sponsor?" Fudge wanted to know.

"People who pay me to race and wear their logo", Lightning explained and, for once, he sounded patient with her. He tried to think of a way to put it that a five-year-old would understand. "Right now, I'm sponsored by Rust-Eze, so I have their name on me, so people know who they are. And when I win this race, I'll get a bigger, better sponsor who pay me more money and will make me even more famous. No more medicated bumper ointment, no more rusty old cars..."

"What's wrong with rusty old cars?" Mater wondered.

Lightning paused again, realising his mistake and turned around to face them again.

"Well, I don't mean _you_ , Mater", he tried to get out of the hole he had just dug himself into. "I mean _other_ old cars, you know. Not like you. I like _you_."

"Eh, it's okay, buddy", Mater assured him.

"What about _me_?" Fudge piped up. "Do you like me?"

A small smile spread across Lightning's face. "Sure, Fudge." He had to admit, Fudge was pretty cute.

"Yay!" the five-year-old cheered.

Meanwhile, Mater was deep in thought. "Hey, you think maybe one day, I can get a ride in one of them heli-copters? I mean, I've always wanted to ride in one of them fancy heli-copters!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure", Lightning agreed casually.

"Me too! I really want to ride in a helicopter too!" Fudge chimed in. "That would be so fun!"

"Tell you what", Lightning began, "I get the sponsorship, you two can ride in my private helicopter anytime you want."

"Reallyreally _really_?!" Fudge exclaimed, jumping up and down and flapping her arms like a bird as she always did whenever she was really excited.

"You mean it?!" Mater added, his tow hook wagging like a dog's tail.

"Oh, yeah, anything you say", Lightning replied, still sounding _extremely_ casual and far from sincere, but neither Fudge nor Mater picked up on that.

"I just hope I'm still here then", Fudge commented.

"I knew it!" Mater declared happily before Lightning got the opportunity to ask Fudge what she meant by that. "I knowed I made a good choice!"

Lightning looked blank. "In what?"

"My best friend."

Lightning stared at the tow truck. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Mater really considered him a best friend? He didn't know what to say. He just smiled. Mater returned the gesture.

"I wish _I_ had a best friend", Fudge remarked.

Lightning looked at her. Of _course_ she didn't have a best friend. There was nobody around here her age. It was obvious, even to the race car, that Fudge loved everyone in Radiator Springs. Still, he wondered if she ever got lonely. Not only was she the only kid in town, but the only _human_. He had no idea what it was like to live his whole life being outnumbered like that. Even though he'd also been an only child, he'd been one of, if not, _the_ most popular kid at school and everyone wanted to hang out with him, both in and out of school hours. He was _never_ lonely. But, of course, Fudge didn't have that...

All of a sudden, Mater changed the subject.

"See ya tomorrow, buddy!" he called to Lightning as he drove backwards back to his junkyard. "Good night, Fudge!" he added before chanting, "McQueen and Sally parked beneath a tree! K-I-S-somethin'-somethin'-somethin'-T!"

Lightning laughed. Then when he stopped, he turned to Fudge. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"You seemed kinda upset when Mater said I was his best friend... You must get lonely sometimes."

"Not really... Because I love everyone here. I don't wanna leave, but soon, I'll be-"

"Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Lightning wondered, interrupting Fudge.

"Sally was looking after me", the human girl explained. "She let me come and say hi, but I should get back now."

Lightning smiled. "Come here." He scooped Fudge onto his hood. "I'll take you."

"Okay", she agreed, pressing her hands down to allow her magnets to connect to Lightning's metal hood, who clearly wasn't expecting it.

"Whoa! What is that?"

"Magnets!" Fudge explained, showing him. "They stick to metal, so they stop me from falling off."

Lightning smiled. "Right." The race car reversed, trying to drive backwards like Mater did. Only he was a lot slower and much more cautious, driving off back to the Cozy Cone.

"Number one... Number one..." Lightning murmured to himself, repeating his cone number.

"Here it is!" Fudge pointed to it.

He drove inside. "Ah! This is nice!" he commented.

"Hey, Stickers!" a voice called from behind him.

Lightning jumped a mile. So did Fudge.

"Don't do that!" the five-year-old shrieked.

"I'm sorry!" Sally apologised.

"Whoa! You scared me! You gotta be careful!"

"I scared myself scaring you scaring me!"

"I mean, I wasn't like _scared_ scared."

"No. Of course not."

"I was more..."

He trailed off awkwardly, realising that Fudge was still there.

Sally saw what he was looking at. "Fudge, why don't you go back to the lobby?" she suggested. "I just wanna talk to Stickers and I'll take you home in a sec."

"But I wanna stay!" Fudge protested.

"Fudge!" Sally laughed. "Come on, sweetie! We gotta let Stickers go to sleep. And _you_ need to go to sleep too. Besides, this is boring, grown-up stuff."

"Not boring grown-up stuff!" Fudge groaned, sliding off Lightning's hood and retreating back to the lobby.

Both cars laughed.

"So, what's up?" Lightning wanted to know.

"It's just I overheard you talking to Mater and Fudge", Sally informed him.

The stock car tensed up. "When? Just... just now? What did... What did you hear?"

"Oh, just something about a helicopter ride", she lied.

Lightning was obviously relieved. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, they got a kick out of that, didn't they?"

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"That you'll get them a ride."

"Oh, who knows?" Lightning responded casually. "I mean, first things first. I gotta get out of here and make the race."

Sally eyed him suspiciously. "Uh-huh."

Fudge, who was sat in the lobby and able to hear every single word coming from the two cars, glanced up from her drawing. Lightning _had_ meant he'd get them a ride in a helicopter, hadn't he? He _promised_. Nobody had _ever_ broken a promise to Fudge before. Why would someone start _now_? She shrugged and went back to finishing off her drawing.

"You know", Sally went on, "Mater and Fudge trust you."

"Yeah. Okay."

"Did you mean _that_?"

"What? Look, I'm exhausted", Lightning insisted. "It's kinda been a long day."

"Yeah, okay. Well, I better take Fudge home. Good night." The Porsche started to drive off.

"Hey! Thank you!" Lightning called after her.

She stopped in disbelief and turned around. "What did you just say?"

"You know, thanks for letting me stay here. It's nice to be out of the impound and this is... It's great. Newly refurbished, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good night."

"Good night."

As Sally drove away, she resumed thinking something that had been on her mind several times that day. Maybe there was hope for this guy after all.

"I finished my drawing!" Fudge announced proudly, thrusting it at Sally when she returned. It was a drawing of a bunch of animals based on some toy ones Fudge had.

"Fudge! This is great!"

"Do you want it?" the child offered. She often gifted her drawings to the residents. In fact, that would always be her Christmas and birthday presents for her family members.

"Of course I do, sweetie. Tell you what. As soon as it's framed, I'll put it right here on my desk, okay?"

Fudge beamed. "Okay!"

"For now, let's keep it safe in here." She put it in a drawer. "Now, you ready to go home, you little munchkin?"

"Okay!" Fudge yawned.

* * *

"There she is!" Luigi exclaimed when Sally entered Casa Della Tires with Fudge on her hood. He picked his daughter up and kissed her noisily and repeatedly.

Fudge smiled broadly, returning the kisses. The townsfolk always made a big deal over seeing her. Especially Luigi and Guido.

"Are you okay?" Luigi went on.

Fudge nodded. "Uh-huh."

" _Ciao_!" Guido greeted his daughter warmly, joining them. He, too, kissed her many times. "(Did you have a good day, baby?)"

" _Si_ ", Fudge responded before going on to recount her day in Italian, making Guido smile.

"What is Fudgie still doing awake?" Luigi wondered, giving her yet another kiss.

"That was my fault", Sally explained. "I woke her up."

"Guess what, guess what!" Fudge cried.

"What, Fudgie?"

"I was talking to Mater and Lightning! And Lightning said that he was gonna let me and Mater ride in one of his helicopters!"

There was a pause. Like Sally, Luigi and Guido didn't buy it. But they weren't about to break Fudge's heart and tell her that.

"Really?" Luigi asked.

Fudge nodded eagerly, jumping up and down. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"

"Well, that sounds exciting", the Fiat commented, picking her up again, "but for now, let's get you to bed."

"Okay!"

"Good night, Sally."

"Good night, Luigi. Good night, Guido. Good night, Fudge."

"(Good night)", Guido responded.

"Night-night, Sally!" Fudge added.

Sally smiled, kissed Fudge and left.

Luigi and Guido carried their daughter up to the bathroom to help her brush her teeth before taking her to her bedroom. And as she was tucked into her bed with a good night kiss from each of her fathers, Fudge no longer worried about having nightmares. Instead, she had big dreams of soaring high in the sky.


	11. The Fabulous Hudson Hornet

**Hey! Welcome back! I'm so glad you're still with me for this epic tale! I just felt like I had to update and since I have a schedule for _When Life Gives You Lemons_ and nothing ready for _Tales From Radiator Springs_... Here I am!**

 **Now, you may have noticed that this chapter has the same name as one of the stories as part of my _Tales From Radiator Springs_ collection. The reason for that is because when I first wrote this story, that story was part of it and this chapter was titled, "The Fabulous Hudson Hornet (Part 2)", so here it's just "The Fabulous Hudson Hornet".**

 **Enjoy. :)**

 **Chapter 11- The Fabulous Hudson Hornet**

By the time the next morning rolled around, Fudge was in a better mood than she had been for a _long_ time. There were no nightmares that night (allowing Guido and Luigi to feel _very_ relieved). She'd forgotten about leaving Radiator Springs. Plus she'd gotten promised a helicopter ride. That alone was enough to make a five-year-old happy. In fact, it was hard for her to keep still as her fathers tried to dress her in a plain white short-sleeved T-shirt and denim short overalls.

"Hi, everyone!" Fudge called out happily.

"Hey, kiddo!" Sheriff returned her cheerful greeting when he arrived at Flo's after a check-up at Doc's. "You seem happier than you were last night."

Fudge nodded. "Yeah! Lightning promised he'd get me and Mater a ride in a helicopter!"

"Yeah!" Mater piped up excitedly. "He done said we could ride in his fancy heli-copters whenever we want!"

Everyone who was there (which was everyone except Lightning, Doc, Sally and Ramone) had the same reaction to that news as Luigi, Guido and Sally had had. They were not sure if Lightning was genuine about that. Still, like Guido and Luigi, they didn't want to upset her by telling her that.

"Well", Sheriff responded finally, "that sure does sound excitin', kiddo."

Fudge nodded in agreement. "I can't wait!"

"Neither can I!" Mater added.

Things were silent for a moment before Fillmore brought up something with Sarge.

"You know, some automotive yoga could really lower your RPMs, man", the hippie van informed him casually.

"Oh, take a car wash, hippie!" Sarge shot back, disgusted.

"Yeah! Look at my husband, y'all!" Flo called out abruptly as Ramone arrived at the café, painted bright yellow. "Whoo! That's your colour!"

"Yellow, baby!"

"Mmm! You smoking hot!" Flo declared.

"Wow! You look good!" Fudge added. "I like yellow."

Ramone grinned. "Thanks, Fudge. And I think I know why you like yellow."

"Luigi!" Fudge announced, giggling and hugging said Fiat's tyre.

Luigi smiled and gave her a kiss.

"There he is!" Sheriff announced as Lightning came zooming up to Flo's.

"Oh, my gosh!" the race car exclaimed breathlessly. His next words came out in a big rush. "Did you know Doc is a famous race car?!"

Silence. Then laughter.

"Doc?" Sheriff repeated. " _Our_ Doc?"

"Not Doc Hudson", Sarge added.

"No, no, no, no, it's true!" Lightning insisted. "He's a real racing legend! He's The Fabulous Hudson Hornet!"

"Fabulous?" Flo repeated. "I've never seen Doc drive more than twenty miles an hour. I mean, have you ever _seen_ him race?"

"No, but I wish I could've", Lightning sighed. Knowing nobody was really convinced, he kept talking. "They say he was _amazing_! He won _three_ Piston Cups!"

Mater spat out his drink of oil. "He did _what_ in his cup?!"

"I think the heat's startin' to get to the boy!" Sheriff remarked.

"Well, I'll say!" Lizzie agreed. "Look how red he is!"

"But he's _always_ been red", Fudge informed the Model T, puzzled. She shook her head. "Silly Lizzie."

"Yeah, I think he needs a new coat of poly, man!" Ramone voiced his opinion.

"Are you sick, buddy?" Mater questioned, concerned.

"Well, you _are_ lookin' a little peaked", Sheriff observed.

"He needs a new coat of poly for sure!" Ramone repeated.

Luigi looked blank. "Didn't Fudge once say something about Doc being a race car?"

"She has!" everyone realised, looking from Lightning to Fudge suspiciously.

Lightning stared at the five-year-old. "Fudge. You..."

"He is!" Fudge insisted, nodding.

" _Thank_ you!" Lightning cried.

Then Fudge hesitated, glancing at the window of Doc's clinic. The Hudson Hornet was glaring at Lightning and did _not_ look happy. The little girl remembered how serious he'd been in her not telling anybody. That's why he paid her not to tell.

So, she changed her story. "We were playing a game!"

Lightning looked confused. "What?"

"Doc and I always play this game!" Fudge went on, jumping up and down. "I told you about that game! Sometimes, he pretends to be a race car! I told you about our game! Lightning was playing with us yesterday! Because _he_ really _is_ a race car!"

Doc sighed with relief. Lightning looked at the little girl as if she'd completely lost it.

"Well, that makes a little more sense", Sheriff declared.

Ramone looked Lightning up and down thoughtfully. "Yeah, but I _still_ think he needs a new coat of poly."

Sally appeared next to Lightning and allowed his tank to fill with gas.

"Hey, hey!" Sheriff protested. "What are you doin'?!"

"Luigi?" Fudge whispered to her father, indicating to Lightning. "Why can't he have gas?"

"Because he can get away if he has a lot of gas", Luigi explained. "He has to stay and fix the road. So, if he has less gas, he has to stay here."

"Oh. Okay."

"It's okay, Sheriff!" Sally assured Sheriff. "You can trust me, right?"

"I trust _you_ , all right", Sheriff replied. "It's _him_ I'm worried about."

"Hmmm. I trust him", Sally proclaimed. "Come on, let's take a drive", she suggested to Lightning.

"A _drive_?" he repeated.

"Yeah. A drive. Don't you big city race cars ever just take a drive?"

"Uh... no. No we don't."

Once Lightning's tank was full, he followed Sally out of Flo's and stared in the direction of the Interstate. The landscape of the desert and winding road seemed to stretch on forever. He was staring so intently that everyone was convinced that he was going to make another escape attempt. Sheriff even had his lights on ready.

Fudge was also looking that way. The road interested her for two reasons. The first one was that, as much as she loved Radiator Springs and had never really left the town or its surrounding area in all of her life, she really wanted to see what else the world had to offer and had big dreams of travelling the world. She owned an atlas, a globe and had a map of the world on her bedroom wall, all of which fascinated the child immensely.

"One day", she'd announce determinedly, indicating to a country in the atlas or on the map or globe, "I'm gonna go there. But I'll come back", she'd be quick to assure her family. "I'd miss Radiator Springs."

Italy was the number one place on her list. Fudge wanted nothing more than to visit her adoptive fathers' home country and they wanted to take her just as much as she wanted to go. Especially since, after all the letters they'd written to their families, telling them all about their daughter and photos they'd sent of her, Luigi and Guido's relatives had asked many times when they were going to make the trip to Italy, so they could all meet her (several of their relatives had visited Radiator Springs right after they officially adopted her, but most of their families had never met her). However, with the lack of customers in town, they still got by all right and could afford the necessities, but Luigi and Guido had nowhere near enough money to get the three of them to Italy and back.

"One day", both of them would promise their daughter in both English and Italian frequently, "when we have the money, we will go. Okay, Fudge? That is a promise."

Unfortunately, that was still a promise that they'd been unable to keep. And with her departure from Radiator Springs right around the corner, time was running out.

The other reason that the road fascinated Fudge was the more recent reason. It was because somewhere out there was her family. People related to the woman who abandoned her. Her father. She wondered if they knew about her. She wondered if they wanted her. Not that it mattered. She wasn't sure if she wanted _them_. Fudge just wanted her family in Radiator Springs.

"Hey, Stickers!" Sally called, breaking both Lightning and Fudge out of their thoughts. She was going to head off in the other direction. "You coming or what?"

Lightning reversed and headed off down the road after Sally.

"Mmm-hmm", Flo commented to Sheriff. "And you thought he was gonna run!"

Sheriff turned his lights off.

"Hey, can you believe it, man?!" Ramone exclaimed. "He actually thought Doc was a _famous_ _race car_!" He laughed hysterically. "That's so too much!"

"What's next?" Sarge laughed. "Fudge is a racer _and_ a spy or something?!"

"I could be!" Fudge piped up, grinning and giggling cheekily.

Sarge smiled. "I'm sure you could."

"But could you imagine if Doc really _was_ a race car?!" the five-year-old went on. "That would just be silly."

Everyone laughed. Doc sighed with relief.

* * *

As the day wore on, Fudge found things more typical. With Lightning out of town, for a little while, it almost seemed like he was never there. She was just outside of Casa Della Tires, playing with her bubble machine and enjoying chasing the bubbles. That's exactly what she was doing when Doc pulled up.

"Hey, kiddo!" he greeted her.

"Hi!" she responded.

He gave her a quarter. "Thanks for not tellin' about me bein' a race car."

"We were playing a game, weren't we?"

Doc smiled. "Yeah. We were." He paused.

"What?"

"Fudge? Do you think you could do me a favour?"

Fudge nodded eagerly. "What?"

"Do you think you could give me a tyre change?" Guido and Luigi had been teaching Fudge how to change tyres and while she wasn't as fast as Guido (in fact, she was very slow), she could still do a good job. One day, she wanted to work at Luigi's Casa Della Tires with her fathers. Well, that and be an author.

"Are you sure you don't want Guido to do it?" she questioned. "He's so much faster than me and it's so cool!"

"That's okay", Doc assured the human. "I want _you_ to do it. I'll pay you."

Fudge beamed with pride. "Okay! What tyres do you want?"

The old car smiled. "I already got some..."

* * *

It took a while, but soon, Doc was fitted with his old racing tyres and he'd given Fudge a dollar for her trouble. Doc let Fudge follow him down to the desert surrounding Radiator Springs. For ages, she was convinced that nothing was going to happen.

Eventually, something _did_ happen, but nothing to do with Doc. A tractor appeared. For a moment, Fudge was confused and kind of afraid, but she knew what must have happened. Mater must have gone tractor tipping again. Even though she didn't really know what tractor tipping was, Fudge had heard about it and tractor stampedes occurred frequently as a result. Lightning appeared, trying to get the tractor.

"Come here, little tractor!" he called after it. "Come here! That's a good tractor! No, no, no, no, come here... What are you doing? You're not supposed to go wandering off... all...alone." He trailed off, noticing Doc at the starting line from the race held two days earlier.

"What are you doing with those old racing tyres?" he murmured. His question was aimed at Doc, but he was really talking to himself.

Lightning also found Fudge standing not too far away.

"Hi!" Fudge called to him.

He gave her a small smile. "Hi... What's Doc doing?"

Fudge shrugged. "I don't know. He asked me to change his tyres and-"

" _You_ can change tyres?" Lightning sounded impressed.

She nodded. "Guido and Luigi taught me how."

Lightning was surprised, thinking she was too young to know how to do that. Plus, he didn't know any other humans who could change a tyre. But that wasn't important right now. "So, what's he doing now?"

"Nothing yet."

"So... you _knew_?!" Lightning asked Fudge.

She nodded. "I _tried_ to tell you yesterday", she pointed out, "but you didn't listen to me. You said you didn't care."

 _So,_ that's _why she was talking about Doc when I mentioned the Piston Cup!_ Lightning realised. "Well, why did you say we were playing a game?!" the race car wondered.

"I promised Doc I wouldn't tell!" Fudge explained. "Whenever I talked about it, he'd say that we were playing a game where he pretended to be a race car, so that's what _I_ had to say!"

"Come on, Doc", Lightning whispered, seeming to forget all about Fudge. " _Drive_!"

Still, nothing happened. For a couple of seconds. Then Doc's expression changed to one of determination and he started his engine. Both Fudge and Lightning were surprised and excited to see what would happen next. In a split second, Doc tore off down the dirt track, leaving a trail of dust behind him and also leaving the other two breathless and mind-blown.

"Wow!" Fudge exclaimed.

Doc was really fast. Faster than Fudge would've expected. Even though she knew his secret, she could never really imagine him as a race car. She couldn't imagine him as anything but what he was. What she knew him as. Radiator Springs's doctor and judge.

Doc flew down the track, looped over the quarter pipe, continued straight for a little while... and made it to the left turn, which had wiped Lightning out during their race. The day after the race, Lightning had returned to the dirt track to try and get it right, but he failed miserably. So, Doc gave him some advice. Turn right to go left. However, Lightning had interpreted it wrong and _still_ wiped out. Now, Doc was gonna demonstrate how it was really done.

He sped up at the turn and when he got to it, he turned his wheels to the right. This allowed him to be in line with the track and he drifted across the dirt. Once he was around the turn, he straightened himself and sped off, only to come to a stop a little further down.

When the dust cleared, Fudge and Lightning came over.

"Yeah", Doc whispered to himself and Lightning knew what he meant. He still had it.

"Yay, Doc!" Fudge cheered, clapping her hands excitedly.

"Wow!" Lightning added and Doc's glare hardened. "You're _amazing_!"

Doc said nothing. Just scooped Fudge onto his hood and drove off as fast as he could, leaving Lightning in the dust.

"Whoa!" Fudge exclaimed, surprised by how fast he was going. She'd barely had time to activate her magnets and struggled to hold on.

"What are you doing?!" Lightning called after him. "Doc, wait!"

"Doc, be careful!" Fudge whimpered.

"I'm bein' careful", he assured her. "I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to you."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Lightning chased after them, but got held up by Mater leading the tractors through to get them back to the field. So, Doc arrived in his garage before Lightning.

The race car burst through the doors of the garage.

"Doc, hold it!" he shouted. "Seriously! Your driving's incredible!"

"Wonderful!" Doc shot back bitterly. "Now, go away!"

"Hey! I mean it!" he insisted. "You still got it!"

Sensing a huge argument coming up, Fudge slid off Doc's hood and tried to slip out of the garage. But she couldn't. Lightning was in the way and she wasn't about to ask him to move. She was too afraid to do so. Her heart pounded, nervous about how this was gonna go. Doc was always _very_ angry around Lightning and she didn't like it when people got angry.

"I'm askin' you to leave!"

"Come on! I'm a race car, you're... a much older race car. But under the hood, you and I are the same."

" _We are not the same_!" Doc insisted. "Understand? Now, get out!"

"How could a car like you quit at the top of your game?!"

Doc paused.

"Uh-oh..." Fudge murmured anxiously.

"You think I quit?" he murmured softly.

He flipped a switch. A light flickered on next to Lightning, revealing a yellowed page of a newspaper with a black and white photo of Doc. Only, to Fudge, it didn't really look like Doc. He had smoke pouring out of his hood and his body was crumpled.

"Right..." Lightning whispered. "Your big wreck in '54."

She pointed to the headline. "What do those words say?"

Lightning looked at her, confused. "Can't you read?"

"I _can_ read!" Fudge shot back. "I just can't read everything yet!"

"'Crash'", Lightning read aloud for her. "'Hudson Hornet out for season.'"

" _They_ quit on _me_ ", Doc explained. "When I finally got put together, I went back expecting a big welcome. You know what they said? 'You're _history_!'"

Even Fudge understood what that meant and she was shocked. Those people must have been great big jerks.

"Moved right on to the next rookie standing in line", Doc went on. His expression softened. "There was a lot left in me... I never got a chance to show 'em." Then his face hardened again. "I keep that", he grumbled, indicating to the newspaper article, "to remind me never to go back. I just never expected that that world would... would find me here."

"Hey, look, Doc, I'm not _them_!" Lightning informed him.

"Oh, yeah?!" Doc snapped.

"No, I'm not!" Lightning insisted.

"When is the last time you cared about something except for yourself, hot rod? You name me one time and I will take it all back."

Lightning opened his mouth to reply. Then he stopped. He had nothing. He _was_ selfish. He _was_ like them. He closed his mouth again and stared at the ground, defeated.

"Uh-huh. I didn't think so. These are good folk around here, who care about one another-"

"Including me?" Fudge piped up quietly.

Both cars looked at the child as if just remembering that she was still there. And they had. They'd both completely forgotten about the little child standing there. They thought she'd left.

Doc gave her a small smile. "Yes. Including you." He scooped her onto his hood again. Then he focused on Lightning again, his smile fading. "I don't want 'em dependin' on someone they can't count on. _Especially_ not Fudge. I don't want any bad influences on this little girl."

Fudge looked at Doc, puzzled. She didn't understand what he meant.

"Oh, like _you_?!" Lightning retorted. "You've been here _how_ long and your friends don't even know who you are?!" Doc was stunned, but Lightning kept going. "Who's caring about only himself?!"

"Just finish that road and get out of here!" was Doc's only response before he drove off with Fudge.

Though it was obvious by his reaction. He didn't wanna admit that Lightning was right.

 **So, I hope you enjoyed that extra-long chapter. Please review.**


	12. The Customer

**Did you think I'd forgotten all about this story? Well, I hadn't! Even though I've been busy on my other stories (except _Tales From Radiator Springs_ ; there's not a lot going on there at the moment, so please forgive me for that!). Anyway, please enjoy this new chappie!**

 **Chapter 12- The Customer**

"Done!" Fudge sang proudly, putting the last of Doc's whitewalls back on.

Doc smiled at her. "Thanks, Fudge. You're a big help."

The five-year-old beamed.

"Now, let's take a look at your head, Miss Fudge!" Doc suggested, leading her over to the clinic. "I think I might be able to remove the stitches in a day or two."

So, he examined her carefully.

"Well, you've been very good about not scratchin'", Doc remarked.

"That's because you said you'd make me wear a dog cone."

"I was just kiddin'", Doc assured her with a teasing smile.

"Oh."

"Good news, kiddo", Doc announced a few minutes later. "I think I can remove your stitches the day after tomorrow."

"Yay!" she cheered.

* * *

"There she is!" Luigi exclaimed as he and Guido burst through the doors to the clinic.

"Hi, Luigi!" she shouted, jumping off the table where Doc was examining her. "Hi, Guido!" She gave each of them a big hug.

" _Ciao_!" her fathers returned her greeting with a big kiss.

"Guess what! Doc said he'll remove my stitches the day after tomorrow!"

"That is good news!" Luigi declared, giving his daughter another kiss.

"Yeah, so, if the day after tomorrow, you could bring 'er in early, that'd be good", Doc spoke up. "Get it out of the way."

Luigi nodded. "We can do that. _Grazie_ , Doc."

"Well, I think it's time Miss Fudge went home now", Doc added.

"I was just about to say the same thing", Luigi remarked with a smile. "Come on, Fudgie."

"Okay!" she agreed. "What's for dinner?"

* * *

Fudge awoke early the next morning. In fact, she could hear Sarge and Fillmore's early morning routine. The reveille sounded over Radiator Springs and the electric guitar started soon after.

" **WILL YOU TURN THAT DISRESPECTFUL JUNK OFF?!** " Sarge barked at Fillmore.

"Respect the classics, man!" Fillmore replied and, for once, he didn't add, "It's Hendrix!"

It didn't take Guido and Luigi long to get Fudge dressed in khaki shorts and a matching button-down shirt. They got a surprise when they headed out, they followed the others (again, Doc was the only one not there; in fact, he was _leaving_ ) over to the end of the now-finished brand new road. Only Lightning wasn't there.

"He's gone?" Flo asked in disbelief.

"Well", Sarge piped up, "we wouldn't want him to miss that race of his."

"I can't believe he really left", Fudge murmured, squirming in her position on Luigi's hood. She was trying hard not to cry.

"Yeah", Mater added. "And he didn't say goodbye."

Sally drove off, clearly very upset by the thought of Lightning being gone and she wasn't the only one. Sheriff was sniffling, making Fudge giggle a little bit.

"Oh, dude!" Ramone had also noticed. "Are you crying?"

" **NO! I'M** ** _HAPPY_** **!** " he insisted (lying!). "I don't have to watch him every second of the day anymore! I'm _glad_ he's gone!"

But Red burst into tears, tearing off exactly as he'd done several days before when Lightning insulted Radiator Springs. He even knocked over the same stack of tyres.

"What's wrong with Red?" a new voice piped up. Right away, everyone knew who it was and gasped happily.

Well, almost everyone.

"Oh, he's just sad", Mater began casually, not realising who he was talking to, "'cause you left town and went to your big race to win the Piston Cup that you'd always dreamed about your whole life and get that big ol' sponsor and that fancy helicopter you was talkin' about."

Silence. Mater had stopped talking, still oblivious to who he had been talking to. For a couple more seconds.

The tow truck gasped. "Wait a minute!"

Everyone laughed.

"I knowed you wouldn't leave without sayin' goodbye!" Mater declared.

"You're still here!" Fudge cheered, scrambling off Luigi's hood and running to the stock car for a hug.

"I'm still here!" Lightning repeated, chuckling and returning the hug.

"What are you doin' here, son?" Sheriff questioned. "You're gonna miss your race." He started driving down the road, switching his lights on. "Don't worry. I'll give you a police escort and we'll make up the time."

"Thank you, Sheriff", Lightning replied. "But you know I can't go... just yet."

"Well, why not?" Sheriff asked, looking back at Lightning and turning his lights off.

"I'm not sure if these _tyres_..." Luigi gasped happily as Lightning continued. "...can get me all the way to California!"

"Peet stop?" Guido spoke up.

"Yeah, does anyone know what time Luigi's opens?" Lightning went on.

Luigi and Guido zoomed up to the race car. "I can't believe it!" Luigi squealed happily.

* * *

" **FOUR NEW TYRES!** " Luigi exclaimed joyfully when they arrived back at Casa Della Tires and got Lightning on the lift. " _Grazie_ , Mr. Lightning! _Grazie_!" Luigi hugged him.

Sally appeared just then, amazed that Lightning was still in town. She joined the others in watching from outside. Fudge understood why they wanted to watch and she was excited tpoo, but it made her feel like a goldfish in a bowl. Doc was soon to arrive, glaring at Lightning angrily.

"Our first real customer in years!" Luigi went on. "I am filled with tears of ecstasy! For this is the most glorious day of my life!"

"What about _me_?!" a hurt Fudge cried.

"(He is just excited)", Guido explained when Luigi didn't answer. "(None of this means as much to him as you do.)"

"All right, Luigi. Give me the best set of blackwalls you've got!" Lightning requested as he was raised up on the lift.

Suddenly, the lift stopped, jerking Lightning back to the ground.

"No! No, no, no!" Luigi cried. "You don't know what you want. _Luigi_ know what you want."

He drove over to a red curtain, Guido and Fudge following.

" _Black_ wall tyres!" Luigi began, spitting the words out as if they tasted bad. "They blend into the pavement! But-a this!" The Fiat pressed a button to open the curtains, revealing some whitewall tyres.

"Ta-dah!" Fudge sang.

" _White_ wall tyres! They say, 'Look at me! Here I am! _Love_ me!'"

"All right, you're the expert", Lightning agreed, making Luigi laugh.

Doc growled and stormed off.

"Oh, and don't forget the spare!" Lightning added.

" _Perfetto_!" Luigi answered before turning to his assistant and best friend. "Guido!"

Guido lit up. "Peet stop!"

"Peet stop!" Fudge echoed excitedly.

Guido got ready to change Lightning's tyres. He was armed with his wrench. Four whitewall tyres lay beside Lightning. Luigi had his Ferrari flag, ready to start. Fudge was eager to see her dad change the tyres as fast as he could. Luigi waved the flag and Guido was away, removing Lightning's Lightyear brand racing tyres as fast as he could and getting the whitewalls on just as fast.

"Go, Guido!" Fudge cheered when he was done.

"Wow", Lightning commented. "He's really fast."

Fudge turned to Luigi. "Can I do it next time?"

Luigi chuckled. "We will see, Fudge."

"Yeah, she changed Doc's tyres yesterday", Lightning added.

Luigi looked at his daughter. "Did you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I did!"

"Where did you get the tyres from?"

"They were Doc's", Fudge explained. "He already had them."

The Fiat nodded. "Okay..." He pulled Fudge in close, kissing her gently and repeatedly.

"But... don't you think she's a little young to know how to change a tyre?" Lightning wondered.

Guido spoke in Italian. Luigi translated. "Guido says he was not much older than Fudge when he learned."

Lightning nodded. "Oh. Okay."

Luigi smiled. " _Signore_ Lightning. Come look in the mirror! You see how _fantastico_ the whitewalls make you look!"

Grinning all the way, the stock car obeyed, following the other three over to the mirror.

"Ta-dah!" Fudge sang again.

"What did Luigi tell you, eh?" the Fiat asked.

"Wow, you were right!" Lightning admitted. "Better than a Ferrari, huh?"

"Eh... no", Luigi responded, to which Lightning's face fell, making Fudge giggle.

Luigi laughed when Fudge did and began tickling her. The five-year-old squealed with laughter, begging him to stop. Eventually, he did, kissing Fudge noisily instead. Lightning just smiled. At first, it kind of annoyed him how lovey-dovey the two Italians got with their daughter. Now, he just thought that it was nice.

When Luigi stopped tickling and kissing Fudge, the little human girl took great delight in showing Lightning all of her toys and books and drawings and Chrysler knew what else. She was constantly running back and forth between the storeroom and her bedroom to grab more stuff until she had brought down just about everything she owned. Of course, the others had seen all of her things a million times, so she was excited to have someone new to show them all to, which Luigi explained to Lightning, smiling apologetically.

"She never gets to do this", Luigi informed the race car, watching as the place got more and more covered with whatever Fudge wanted to show Lightning.

But he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled at Fudge and her possessions and kept repeating things like, "Oh, that's nice", or, "Wow! You're lucky to have one of _those_!" or, "That's a great drawing. You're quite the artist."

" _Grazie_!" Luigi thanked Lightning at the end of his visit after making Fudge put all of her belongings away (which she did reluctantly). "Thank you for coming! Don't be a stranger!"

"Actually", Lightning began, "before I go, Luigi? I was... actually wondering if you could do me a favour..."

Immediately, Luigi was curious. "Oh?"

"Yeah..." Lightning chuckled, seemingly kind of embarrassed. "You see... I wanna surprise Sally..." He explained exactly what he had in mind and what he wanted Luigi to do.

"Oh!" Luigi sounded excited. "Of course! Anything for you and _Signorina_ Sally."

"And, Fudge", Lightning added, turning to the five-year-old, "you can help me as well."

That was all the little girl needed to hear. "Really?! What can I do?!"

He told her.

"I can do that!"

"Sure you can." Lightning started out the shop. "Come on."

"Where?" Fudge wondered.

"I have an announcement to make", Lightning explained, joining the rest of the townsfolk.

"He has an announcement!" were the first words out of Fudge's mouth when they arrived. Only it was pretty hard for a little girl to pronounce _announcement_.

Lightning merely grinned. "Anyone up for a game?"

"What game?" they all wanted to know.

"Fudge can decide."

Fudge's eyes lit up. "Reallyreallyreally?!"

"What about California?" Sheriff wondered.

"Trust me, that can wait", Lightning assured him. "Fudge, what do you wanna play?"

"Let's have a water fight!" Fudge suggested. "We have water balloons and water guns and Red has his hose! It's really fun!"

"Sounds fun!" Lightning agreed enthusiastically. "Go get your stuff then."

"Okay!" She sped off.

One _very_ happy Fudge ran off to her room and soon returned, armed with water guns and water balloons. She also had a pad of paper, crayons and a book to lean on with her. She wouldn't tell anybody what those were for. However, it didn't matter. She wasn't using them yet. Right now, it was time to play!

 **This water fight is the kind thing Lightning's gonna do for Fudge because she doesn't have a store or business or anything. So, let the fun begin! Sort of. The next chapter has some sad stuff in it, so be prepared for that. _Ciao_!**


	13. Fudge's Fate

**Chapter 13- Fudge's Fate**

Once all of the water balloons and other weapons were filled, everyone in town except Doc, Sally and Lizzie headed out to the dirt track to have a big water fight.

"Let's go!" Fudge shouted as everyone made a dash for the best weapons.

Lightning turned to the little girl. "Ready, Fudge?!"

She grinned, aiming her gun. "Ready!"

"Three... two... one... _Go_!"

Fudge sprayed Lightning with her gun, taking him by surprise.

"Ha-ha!" the human girl cried. "I got you wet!"

"Oh yeah?" Lightning took aim with his water balloons and hurled them at her, prompting a loud squeal from the child.

Everyone laughed. Even Fudge. Then she made her expression determined, glaring at Lightning. She pointed her gun directly at him and opened fire.

"Hey!" he cried teasingly.

"I got him, I got him!" she whooped with joy.

"Way to go, Fudge!" they all congratulated her.

"I'm gonna get all of you!" the human vowed. "Watch me!"

"We're watchin', kiddo!" Sheriff assured her, laughing.

"Ready?" she quizzed them all. "Ready?!"

Fudge pulled the trigger and squirted till every last car around her was soaking wet.

"I got you all, I got you all!" she chanted, dancing around with great glee.

"Go, Fudgie!" Guido shouted, scooping her up. "(You win this round!)" He tossed her in the air gently, chanting, "Fudge, Fudge, Fudge, Fudge!"

The others joined in with the cheering as Guido continued to toss her lightly.

"Fudge, Fudge, Fudge, Fudge!" they all hollered.

The five-year-old squealed with pure joy. Even when Red soaked her with his hose.

Lightning laughed from his spot next to Luigi, the two of them hanging back as the others abruptly started a water assault on the five-year-old, to her delight, as she ran around, squealing and laughing. "Fudge sure seems to be having the time of her life!" Lightning commented.

"I hope so", Luigi remarked and the fact that he was about to cry failed to escape Lightning's attention.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Fudge", Luigi explained, beginning to cry. He took a breath. "She... she can't stay in Radiator Springs much longer."

"What?" That was just about the last thing Lightning expected to hear. "Why not?"

"Have you ever heard of the American Child Adoption and Foster Care Association? They are often called ACAFCA?"

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Lightning, so he nodded.

"Well, they said that she needs to grow up in a larger town where she could have more social interactions. Especially with humans. On her sixth birthday, she has to move to an orphanage in Wisconsin or with any relatives if they can find them."

Lightning couldn't believe it. When Sally had taken him for a drive, she'd taken him up to the Wheel Well and told him the story of how the Interstate took business out of the town and the impacts that that had. Only she hadn't mentioned Fudge's fate. It shouldn't have been surprising to him, though. He remembered how upset everyone had gotten in the courthouse (now, he knew what Sally meant by how important it was for Fudge that they had business in town) and how she said she wanted a helicopter ride _if_ she was still there. It all made sense, but part of him wished it didn't.

"Wow..." he murmured, shaking his hood in disbelief. He watched Fudge run back to try and fill up her water gun, everyone cheering her on. "I can't believe that..."

"I know!" Luigi sobbed. "It is not fair! She is my _daughter_! I just wish she didn't have to go through this!"

Lightning nodded. "I thought she must get lonely sometimes, being the only kid here."

"Yes. Well, we thought about getting her a pet, but with our store, we decided that it was not the best idea."

"Well, isn't there anything you can do? To let her stay?"

"I don't think so. We refused to let them take her when they came for her in December, but that got us arrested. Now, their decision is final."

"Luigi?" Lightning began, hoping his question wouldn't offend the Italian car. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... if this was such a big issue, why did they let you adopt her in the first place?"

However, Luigi wasn't offended at all. "Since Radiator Springs is such a small town and there is very little information on it, they did not realise that there were no humans here."

"So... how did Fudge even _get_ here?" Lightning wondered. He'd just assumed that Fudge had been born elsewhere (Italy, probably, with that accent) and that her parents had died, Luigi and Guido adopted her and she moved to Radiator Springs to live with them. However, it sounded like that wasn't the case at all.

Luigi explained the whole story of how he and Guido found her mother in labour and she had left town only hours after giving birth. So, he and Guido took her in.

"Wow..." Lightning repeated and he found himself thinking something Luigi and everyone else had wondered so many times in the past. How could _anybody_ not want her?

"And that social worker that came was a devil woman!" Luigi added. "She told Fudge some of this and we had to have that talk with her much earlier than we wanted!"

They both looked back at Fudge, who was running away from Sarge as he threw water balloons at her.

"I'm gonna get you, soldier!" he informed her playfully.

"Not if I can help it!" Fudge responded determinedly. "Everyone, get Sarge! You gotta get Sarge now!"

"Uh-oh..." Sarge muttered as everyone closed in on him.

"I don't care what _anyone_ says!" Luigi proclaimed, watching the girl run after the Jeep. "Fudge is my _daughter_! _My_ daughter! Guido and I watched her being born, we have taken care of her all of her life. Sally wasn't here when she was a baby, but the rest of us have known her since the day she was born and we all changed her diapers. Well, except for Mater, who thought that was too disgusting."

Lightning couldn't help laughing at that.

"We want to keep taking care of her!" Luigi continued, sobbing. "We don't _want_ to send her to an orphanage or to live with relatives! We want to see her every day! We want to be there to watch her grow up!" He sobbed harder as he remembered something else. "And Guido and I _promised_ that we would take her to Italy one day! That was a _promise_... but we just never had the money to keep it."

"Wait!" Lightning sounded surprised. "She's _never_ been to Italy?"

Luigi shook his hood. "No. She has never been out of Radiator Springs in her life."

"But she has an Italian accent!" Lightning noted. "I just assumed you two adopted her in Italy or something."

Luigi smiled sadly. "Yes. Her accent is just from the amount of time she has spent with me and Guido. But no. She has never been to Italy herself. She has always wanted to, though... Her sixth birthday is so soon... And at this point, we are willing to give her just about anything she wants, but... With no business in town, we just don't have the money to take her... That is why... it is so hard..."

"Does she know?" Lightning wondered, glancing back at the excited child, who was receiving hugs and kisses from the others. "About moving..."

Luigi nodded. "Yes", he reported ruefully. "She does. And it has been so hard on her too. My poor baby is so scared about who will take care of her. And she does not want her birthday to come at all."

"I can't say I blame her", Lightning remarked. "When _is_ her birthday?"

"June sixteenth."

"Wow. Not long then."

"She has been having nightmares about the whole thing", the Fiat continued. "Being abandoned and never seeing any of us again. She has already been abandoned once. I do not want her to forget about this when she is older and think that Guido and I did the same thing... It is hard for me to admit as a father, but... if she has to go, I think the sooner she does, the better."

Lightning really began to feel the weight of Luigi's words. He had no idea. He wasn't a father, but it sure seemed like a tough thing to admit.

"Luigi!" came Fudge's voice. "Come and play!"

"Coming, baby!" Luigi called back. He tried to shake off his sadness and join his daughter in the game.

In a few short minutes, Luigi seemed to have forgotten all about his conversation with Lightning. But Lightning sure hadn't.


	14. Radiator Springs Shopping Spree

**I feel like I really need to crack on with this story before I start to get too far into _Ride_ (by the way, I'm glad you guys seem to be interested in that one already). So, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 14- Radiator Springs Shopping Spree**

"That was fun!" Fudge declared an hour later when the game was over and her sopping wet khakis were beginning to dry out.

"Yeah..." Lightning agreed sadly. He still couldn't believe what Luigi had told him.

"We should do this more often!" she added.

"Yeah..." _Fudge,_ why _are you doing this to me?_ the stock car wondered. "Well, all that playing has sure made me thirsty! You know what would be great right now? Some homemade organic fuel."

Fillmore's eyes widened in amazement. " _Really_?!"

Sarge couldn't believe it either. "That freak juice?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Can I come?!" Fudge requested eagerly.

Lightning smiled. Like Luigi and everyone else, he was willing to give Fudge just about anything she wanted at that point.

"Sure, Fudge-O!" he agreed.

"Yay!" the five-year-old cheered joyfully, climbing onto his hood.

"Let's go!" Lightning drove off with Fudge.

"Look after her!" Luigi called after Lightning.

"I will!" he called back.

"Are we going shopping?" Fudge asked.

"Yeah, we are!"

"I need money!" the human girl announced. "I have six dollars and nine cents!" (Not including the money Doc had given her.)

"Wow!" Lightning exclaimed. "That's a lot! But I don't think you need any money today! I'll pay, okay?"

"Okay!"

* * *

Soon, Fudge and Lightning were over at Fillmore's.

"I don't come here often", Fudge announced once they were there.

"Why not?" Lightning wondered.

"It smells funny."

Lightning chose not to respond to that. He could guess _why_ it smelt funny. But Fudge was far too young and innocent to know about that kind of thing.

"Wow! This organic fuel is _great_!" he declared after trying some (while Fudge sipped on some oil-free fruit juice Fillmore had made). "Why haven't I heard about it before?"

"It's a conspiracy, man!" Fillmore yelled. "The oil company's got a grip on the government! They're feedin' us a bunch of lies, man!"

Fudge, who was sat, drawing and refusing to let either Lightning or Fillmore see her paper, looked from one car to the other, confused.

"Okay", Lightning replied. "I'll take a case."

"Tell Fillmore about the surprise!" Fudge instructed.

Fillmore smiled. "Fudge, if he tells me, it won't be a surprise, man."

"Well, I need your help with it", Lightning explained before telling Fillmore exactly what he'd told Luigi.

"Far out, man!" was Fillmore's answer.

"So... you'll help me?"

"Yeah, man. What do you need me to do?"

Lightning told him and Fillmore agreed.

* * *

Next, Fudge and Lightning went over to Sarge's Surplus Hut.

"Hi!" Fudge called to him.

Sarge smiled. Everyone in town did when they saw Fudge. And it wasn't often that Sarge let down his tough guy appearance and smiled, but who could resist Fudge? Not even Sarge. "Hey, soldier!" he greeted her.

"We're going shopping!" Fudge announced ecstatically.

"Are you?"

Fudge nodded eagerly. "Noddy-nod!" she replied. That was her way of saying _yes_ sometimes. _No_ was _shaky-shake_ and _I don't know_ was _circly-circle_ (a combination of nodding and shaking her head).

"Noddy-nod?" Sarge repeated with a smile. He turned to Lightning. "Good to see you, soldier. What can I do for you?"

Lightning browsed through the shop before some night vision goggles caught his attention and he wanted to try them out.

"Me too, me too!" Fudge requested.

"All right." Sarge handed them each a pair.

"Wow!" Fudge cried, amazed as she pulled the goggles over her eyes. "That's cool."

"Yeah? You like that, soldier?" Sarge asked her.

"Noddy-nod!"

"Yeah? You can keep those if you want."

" _Really_?!"

He nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you!" Fudge gave him a kiss.

As it turned out, Lightning didn't have to pay for Fudge's stuff. She was getting them for free from the others.

Of course, before they left, Lightning had to ask Sarge to participate in his surprise for Sally and, like Luigi and Fillmore, he agreed.

* * *

Next stop was Lizzie's. Fudge was drawing quietly again as Lightning selected a snow globe. Then Lizzie let the little girl have a snow globe for herself as well as a new Radiator Springs T-shirt. The T-shirts were sold in the curio shop for the human tourists and Lizzie made sure that Fudge always had at least one that fit.

Then Lightning had bumper stickers slapped on his rear bumper. Fudge was slightly surprised and confused that he didn't get any Radiator Springs bumper stickers. He got them for places called Kingman, Barstow and San Bernardino. Places that Fudge had never been. Well, everywhere except Radiator Springs was a place she'd never been. To her, all of those places felt about as real as the magical land of Narnia.

And once Lightning had all of his new bumper stickers on and he and Lizzie turned around, they could see that Fudge had gotten her little hands on some of the stickers and was pasting them all over herself. The two cars smiled, but suggested she left the rest of the stickers alone.

Again, Lightning had to explain his surprise for Sally. It took a lot longer to explain to Lizzie than it had been with the others, but, when she understood, she was just as eager as everyone else.

* * *

Finally, they went to Ramone's, so Lightning could get a new paint job.

"Hi, Ramone!" Fudge greeted the Lowrider.

He smiled. "Hey, Fudge!" He picked her up and placed her on his hood. "You havin' fun on your shoppin' spree?"

Fudge had no idea what _spree_ meant, but she was having fun going around and shopping around Radiator Springs. So, she nodded.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Look what I got!" She showed him the night vision goggles, snow globe, T-shirt and stickers.

"Nice!" Ramone commented.

"I gotta work on my drawing!" Fudge announced. "It's a secret! Nobody can look at it yet!"

"All right", Ramone agreed. He turned to Lightning. "Need a new paint job?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He explained to Ramone exactly what he wanted and the Lowrider got straight to work.

Fudge watched Ramone work for a little while as she drew her picture.

"How do you spell _organic_?" she asked at one point.

Ramone told her, refusing to take his eyes off his painting.

"Okay! Thank you!"

After a little while, she stood up.

"I have to go home!" she announced seriously. She paused and added, "I need to get ready for the surprise!"

"What surprise?" Ramone wanted to know, still not looking up from his work.

"I'll explain when you're done", Lightning answered. Good thing Ramone was working on his door rather than his hood, otherwise he'd have to keep his mouth shut to prevent the paint from getting into it and couldn't reply to Ramone.

"Bye, you guys!"

The two cars smiled. "Bye, Fudge!" they chorused.

* * *

As the sky grew dark, they were ready. The entire town except Doc and Sally was on Main Street, looking out for Sally.

"Here she comes!" Mater shouted after a while and everyone got into position.

"She's here, she's here!" Fudge hollered, practically exploding from excitement.

"Sssh!" Luigi whispered to his daughter gently. "It is a surprise, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" she giggled.

"Okay, places, everybody!" Lightning ordered. "Hurry! Act natural!"

In a few seconds, most of them were in front of Ramone's shop to prevent Sally from seeing Lightning. However, Red and Lizzie stayed on the other side of the street in front of the curio shop.

"Hi, Sally!" everyone greeted her.

Right away, she knew something was up. "All right. What's going on?"

"Ladies and gentlecars!" Mater began. "Please welcome... the _new_... Lightning McQueen!"

With a rev of his engine, Lightning came out of Ramone's, revealing his brand new paint job. He was still bright red, but more sparkly with a white oval and a yellow lightning bolt on each side.

"Pow! What do you think? Radiator Springs looks pretty good on me!"

Sally chuckled. "I'll say!" She purred happily as Lightning drove in circles around her. "Ka-chow!" she laughed. "You're gonna fit right in in California!"

"Excuse me?"

Everyone turned to little Fudge.

"Yes, Fudge?"

"I have something for Lightning."

Everyone was immediately interested. None more than Lightning.

"What is it, Fudge-O?" he questioned.

"This." Fudge handed him her folded-up sheet of paper. The secret art she'd been working on all day, making sure that it was perfect. And she was pretty darn proud of it.

When Lightning opened it up, he gasped and, for the first time in a long time, he gave an, " _Awwwww_..."

Sally leaned over and peered at the paper. She, too, let out an, " _Awwwww_..."

The drawing was of almost the entire RS surrounding Lightning, who had a jet of water going into his face from a water gun Fudge was holding. He was wearing whitewall tyres and night vision goggles and drinking from a can labelled as organic fuel. Everyone in the picture was smiling warmly. But Lightning noticed something interesting. Fudge hadn't drawn Doc.

The entire town crowded around to admire Fudge's drawings. All of them melted at the sight of it.

"I love you, baby!" Luigi kissed the top of his daughter's head.

"And if you're wondering why we call her Fudge", Sally added to Lightning, "this is it."

"She _is_ pretty sweet", Lightning agreed. "Just out of curiosity... What _is_ her real name? Or is _Fudge_ her real name?"

"Her real name is Brittney", Luigi answered. "Brittney Rossi-Topolino."

Lightning studied the child in front of him thoughtfully. "I think Fudge suits her more."

"Me too", a bunch of the others agreed.

"Oh, my goodness!" Sally exclaimed, looking back at the drawing. "It looks like you've helped everybody in town."

"Everybody except one."

Sally's eyes widened, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

"Hey!" he called out to Red and Lizzie across the street. "Is it getting dark out?!"

"What?!" Lizzie shouted back. "What did he say?!"

"Let me say that again." Then Lightning yelled even louder, "Is it getting dark out?!"

"Now, what was I supposed to do after that?" Lizzie wondered.

Red took the matter into his own tyres. He switched the radio on and the song, "Sh-Boom", blasted throughout the town.

And then Sally's surprise began.

 **Fun** **Fact : _Noddy-nod_ for _yes_ , _shaky-shake_ for _no_ and _circly-circle_ for _I don't know_ was something I did when I was around Fudge's age. So, I thought I'd include it in this story.**

 **Thought I'd do the cruising scene as its own individual chapter, so stay tuned for that! Till then, see ya! Please review! Did you enjoy this chapter? Noddy-nod, I hope! XD**


	15. Magical Moments

**I wasn'** **t planning on updating today, but I figured _Why not?_ After all, today is the one-year anniversary of my going to the movies to see _Cars 3_ for the first of five times! I loved every second of it and I still do! The only disappointing part was when it was over and knowing I would never see it for the first time again.**

 **Anyway, I think the cruising scene is my favourite part of the first movie and I love Fudge in it as well, so I hope you all love this chapter as much as I do!**

 **Chapter 15- Magical Moments**

One by one, the neon lights of each of the town's stores flickered on, bringing colour and life to Radiator Springs for the first time in a long time. Little Fudge had never seen anything like it before (except for in a painting of the town at night, which Ramone had created to decorate her new bedroom, but that didn't count). So, even though the surprise was really meant for Sally, it was a treat for her as well.

" _E bellissima_!" Fudge exclaimed in amazement.

"Do you like it, Fudge?" Luigi questioned.

She nodded, jumping up and down and flapping her arms like a bird. "Yeah! Yeah! It's amazing! It's like a rainbow! I love it!"

Sally gasped. "They fixed their neon!"

"Fudgie?" Luigi turned to his daughter. "Don't you have a job to do too?"

"Oh, yeah!" In one swift move, Fudge flicked on her bubble machine, allowing a stream of bubbles to fly across town.

Luigi smiled. "That is better!"

"Pretty!" Fudge yelled excitedly.

"Low and slow?" Flo asked Ramone.

"Oh, yeah, baby!" Ramone answered.

So, they started cruising down Main Street, laughing and whooping.

* * *

Pretty soon, everyone joined in. Only Fudge couldn't really cruise because she was a human, so instead, she ran around Main Street, dancing, chasing the bubbles, laughing and just having the time of her life.

Lightning and Sally were the only ones there who were not cruising. (Doc wasn't cruising either, but he wasn't there.) They were having a moment to themselves first.

Lightning turned to Sally. "Just like in its heyday, right?"

The Porsche sighed happily. "It's even better than I pictured it. Thank you."

"Magic!" Fudge hollered in delight, spinning around in circles and pawing at the bubbles that were floating down Main Street. "It's like magic!" She laughed like crazy.

Sally chuckled softly. "I think her smile lights up this town more than any of these lights."

Lightning hummed in agreement, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. He still had his talk with Luigi on his mind.

"Are you okay?" Sally asked worriedly.

Lightning broke his gaze away as Fudge stumbled a little bit, but Guido caught her before she could fall. The little Italian forklift picked his daughter up and spun her around as he held her close to him, making her giggle like crazy.

"Yeah!" Lightning lied. "Yeah..."

"What's wrong?" Sally wanted to know.

"Luigi told me about Fudge... How she has to go soon..."

Sally paused, lowering her hood sadly. The only words that came out of her mouth were, "Let's not talk about that right now. This is a celebration. Fudge isn't thinking about it and neither should we."

Lightning smiled at her. "Right... Well... Shall we cruise?"

"Oh, thank you, dear!" Lizzie exclaimed, jumping in and leading Lightning away from Sally. "I'd love to!"

"No, no, no!" Lightning tried to correct her.

"Lizzie!" Sally cried in disbelief.

"I remember when Stanley first asked me to take a drive with him", the elderly Model T began one of her infamous really long stories.

Fudge noticed what had happened and laughed hysterically.

Mater drove up to Sally. "Hey, Miss Sally", he greeted her. "May I have this cruise?"

Sally chuckled. "Of course, Mater."

They were about to drive off down Main Street, but Sheriff stopped them with an, "Uh-uh-uh", and a gesture to the traffic lights above them.

They stared up at it. Sally couldn't believe that the light in front of her was green! And a bunch of tractors rolled past.

Mater managed to get through and approached Fudge.

"Hi, Mater!" she greeted the tow truck.

"Howdy, Fudge!" He grinned at her. "I need your help with somethin'!"

"What?!" she questioned, excited to have a job to do.

"We gotta save McQueen!"

She looked to Lightning, who was up at the other end of town. "He got kidnapped by Lizzie!" the five-year-old shouted.

"Yeah. And we gotta save 'im!"

"Let's go!" Fudge leapt into Mater's truck bed and he drove off.

"And again and I said, 'No!'" Lizzie was telling Lightning. "And he asked me again and I said, 'No!'"

Lightning turned around and mouthed, _Help me! Help me!_

Sally laughed. So did Fudge.

"But oh, he was a persistent little bugger for a two-cylinder", Lizzie went on. "Finally, I said, 'All right. One little drive...'"

Lightning turned around to try and locate Sally, seeing if he could get back to her without Lizzie noticing him leaving. But out of nowhere, a tow hook lashed onto him and towed him through town. Mater laughed. Fudge clapped and cheered.

"Don't worry! We're here to save you!" Fudge announced.

Mater dropped Lightning off in front of Sally.

"Hey!" the race car exclaimed happily.

"Thanks, Mater!" Sally called.

"Hey! I helped!" Fudge shouted as Mater drove backwards down the road.

"Thanks, Fudge!" Sally and Lightning chorused.

Mater grinned and winked. "Good evenin', you two!"

"Miss-un accunpish!" Fudge cheered. That was supposed to be _mission accomplished_ , but that was very hard for a five-year-old to say.

Fudge leapt out of his truck bed and ran down the road, chasing the bubbles.

"Bubbles!" she cheered. "Bubbles!"

She ran back to her fathers, who took her and danced with her. Guido also tossed her in the air again.

"Guido!" she squealed joyfully. "Guido!"

"Havin' fun, Fudge?" Ramone questioned as he and Flo drove past.

"Yeah! Yeah, yeah!" She had the biggest smile on her face.

Everyone except Sally and Lightning crowded around the excited child.

"This is fun!" Fudge declared, grabbing at the bubbles again.

The others smiled and all took turns dancing with her. All she could do was laugh. She had the biggest smile on her face. For the rest of them, especially Luigi and Guido, it was a very happy-sad moment. They struggled not to cry.

"Where's Doc?" Fudge wondered when Sarge stopped spinning her around. "He's missing all the fun."

Everyone looked around.

"I don't know, baby", Luigi responded.

"Well, he's missing all the fun!" Fudge repeated. She took off down the road. "Maybe I should go and find him!"

But before Fudge could find Doc, _it_ happened. Things got chaotic and confusing and the night took a very dramatic turn...

 **I thought that the bubbles would be a nice touch. Like, just imagine it! I think it would be pretty cool in the scene!**

 **So, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please review!**


	16. Goodbye

**So, I'm back and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Even though, it's really sad.**

 **Chapter 16- Goodbye**

"Is that what I think it is?!" Flo called out.

Sally sighed, nuzzling Lightning. "I don't know, Flo. I haven't had a chance to find out, but I am going to find out. Hello."

"Not _that_!" Flo corrected her. " _That_!"

She gestured down the road where they saw...

"Customers?!" Sally gasped at the sight of the wall of headlights.

Everyone was excited. Except for one. Fudge was really nervous. She'd never seen so many people before. She wondered if there were any humans among the crowd. Maybe they would stay and she could stay in Radiator Springs.

"Customers, everybody!" Flo shouted. "And a lot of 'em! You know what to do! Just like we rehearsed!"

Out of nowhere, a bright light shone down on Lightning. Fudge whimpered and tried to get back to Luigi and Guido.

"It's the Ghostlight!" Mater shouted.

"Luigi?" Fudge whimpered. "Guido?"

"We have found McQueen!" a helicopter, who turned out to be the owner of the light announced. " _We_ _have found McQueen!_ "

* * *

Before anybody really knew what was going on, a flood of cars came pouring through the town. More than Fudge had ever seen in her entire life! And most of them had cameras, which were setting off the brightest lights the child had ever seen every few seconds or were yelling out questions to Lightning. Worst of all, she was trapped in the middle of the crowd. She couldn't see anybody she knew. She was lost.

"Luigi?!" she called out. "Guido?!"

If they replied, she couldn't hear it.

" ** _LUIGI_** **!** " she screamed. " ** _GUIDO_** **!** "

Still no reply. Fudge wanted to cry.

But she didn't. She just stood there, looking around fearfully for someone she knew. Finally, it wasn't easy, but she managed to spot Lightning. He was at the centre of attention, but, for once, he didn't wanna be. He was calling out to Sally. There was no way Fudge was gonna be able to get to him. Not with all of those reporters around him. Still, she had to try.

"Lightning?!" Fudge called out, squeezing past a bunch of cars to try and get to the race car.

Next thing she knew, a microphone was being shoved in her face.

"What has Lightning McQueen been doing during his time here?!" a reporter asked her.

It took the little girl a couple of seconds to adjust to the bright lights as at least a dozen cameras flashed constantly right in her eyes. She was surrounded by cars, all yelling questions and taking pictures of her. It was all extremely overwhelming.

Once she'd somewhat recovered, she pointed to the road. "He broke the road! He had to stay here and fix it!"

"Why did you make a _race car_ fix your road?!" another reporter wanted to know. "Why couldn't anyone else here have done it?"

"He had to, he had to! He broke it, so he had to fix it!" Fudge explained. "If he beat Doc in a race, he could leave, but he didn't! He fell into the cactuses!"

"Doc?" the first reporter repeated. "Doc Hudson?"

Fudge nodded. "Yeah. How do you know Doc? Did you know he was a race car?"

"He was the one who tipped us off", a third reporter replied. "Told us McQueen was here", he added at the child's confused expression.

Wait. _Doc_ told them Lightning was in Radiator Springs. How? When? Why?

Fudge didn't get time to dwell on it for very long. The reporters kept firing questions at the poor girl. Either they didn't notice how terrified she was or they simply didn't care.

"Was Lightning McQueen your prisoner?"

"Why's McQueen wearing whitewalls?"

"Do you think he's still gonna race for the Piston Cup?"

"Is he _ready_ to race in the Piston Cup?"

Fudge couldn't answer any of them. All she wanted was to get back to her family.

" **GUIDO! LUIGI!** " she hollered again, but to no avail. They were calling her name too, but she couldn't hear them.

* * *

That was when a horn blasted through the town, forcing the reporters to scurry out of the way as a _huge_ truck, lugging a trailer behind him, pulled in. Fudge moved back too. She was scared of the truck's size. Though, she was relieved that his arrival meant that the press left her alone. She wasn't comfortable with all of the questions and their flashing lights and shouting. Now, all of that was still going, but at least it was focused away from her. She just wanted Luigi and Guido.

"You're here!" the truck called, sounding _very_ relieved as soon as he saw Lightning. "Thank the Manufacturer! You're alive!"

"Mack?" Lightning asked, sounding both happy and surprised.

"You're here!" the truck- Mack apparently- went on. "I can't believe it!"

As he turned, Fudge caught sight of the trailer he had behind him. It was the biggest trailer Fudge had ever seen (well, actually, she'd _never_ seen a trailer before) and it had a massive picture of Lightning on it. Fudge couldn't believe it. Lightning was _really_ famous! More people knew who he was than Fudge had ever seen in her entire life! It was _insane_!

"You are a sight for sore headlights!" Mack exclaimed. "I'm so sorry I lost you, boss! I'll make it up to you!"

"Mack!" Lightning cried. "I... I can't believe you're here!"

"Is that the world's fastest racing machine?!" a voice came from inside the trailer.

"Is that Harv?" Lightning questioned.

"Yeah", Mack answered, unhooking the trailer and moving in between Lightning and the reporters. "He's in the back."

Lightning spoke on the phone to Harv, his agent (who insisted that he get out of "Radiation Stinks" ASAP and race for the Piston Cup) for a little while before spotting Sally and talking to her.

"Sally", he began, at a total loss for words. "I want you to... Look, I wish..." He stopped and sighed. _What's the point?_ he wondered to himself as tears filled his eyes.

"Thank you", Sally murmured. "Thanks for everything."

Lightning shrugged modestly. "It was just a road."

"No", Sally disagreed. "It was much more than that."

"Hey, kid!" Mack called to Lightning. "We gotta go! Harv's going crazy! He's gonna have me fired if I don't get you in the truck right now!"

"Mack, just... just hold it", Lightning instructed.

"You should go", Sally informed him quietly.

"I know, but..."

"Good luck in California", Sally told him. "I hope you find what you're looking for." With that, she drove off.

* * *

Fudge watched and she couldn't hear a word they were saying, but she saw that they both looked upset. Was Lightning leaving now? He had to get to California to go to his big race to win the Piston Cup that he'd always dreamed about his whole life and get that big ol' sponsor and that fancy helicopter he was talking about. But what about Radiator Springs? Was he just going to forget about it? Was he just going to forget about all of them? But... didn't he know just how much Fudge loved him?

It seemed like he really _was_ gonna leave Radiator Springs and everyone in it behind. He was reversing into the trailer and the door closed. The truck started up and rolled out of town the same way they'd all come from.

"Hey, guys!" a reporter called out. "McQueen's leaving in the truck!"

The flood of reporters took off after Mack and Lightning, one of them knocking Fudge out of the way in the process. The girl landed on her backside on the ground. It was painful, but she still didn't cry.

Then she saw someone she could easily get to without being trampled on by reporters.

"Doc!" she cried, spotting the old Hudson Hornet by Ramone's shop. "Doc!"

He scooped her onto his hood. "Fudge. What are you doin' on your own?"

"I got lost", she explained. She told him about how much fun they were having, so she was trying to find him. Then the stream of cars separated her from the others.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"I don't know... Who _were_ those people?" Fudge wanted to know.

"Reporters", he answered. "You know, like the ones you've seen on TV?"

Fudge nodded. "They scared me. They were yelling at me and they wouldn't leave me alone."

"Yeah. They do that."

"Oh _no_!" Fudge groaned as a blue car, obviously one of the reporters, approached the two of them.

"Hey. Are you Doc Hudson?" she asked.

"Yeah", Doc responded.

"Thanks for the call."

And with that, she left, following the rest of the press.

Okay. _That_ wasn't so terrible, but Sally was parked there, staring at Doc in astonishment.

" _You_ called them?"

"It's best for everyone, Sally", he replied simply.

"Best for everyone?" Sally repeated, sounding disgusted. "Or best for _you_?!"

"Why did you call them?" Fudge questioned.

"That race car doesn't belong here, Fudge", Doc insisted. "He never did. You'll see it one day." He glared at Sally and added, "You _all_ will."

Sally grunted, further showing her disgust. Then she started to drive off.

"Come on, sweetie", the Porsche whispered loudly to the human girl. "Let's go find Luigi."

Fudge slid off Doc's hood. "Why doesn't he belong here?!" she challenged the older car. "You guys always told me Radiator Springs is a happy place and anybody's welcome here!"

" _This. Is. Different!_ " Doc insisted and neither Fudge nor Sally had seen him so angry before. "He's not like other cars! Or even humans! He's a _race_ car!"

" _So?!_ " Sally countered. "What difference does _that_ make?!"

"Yeah!" Fudge shouted. "I love him! And anyway, _you're_ a ra-"

What happened next was a shock to all three who witnessed it. It was no secret that Doc was furious about everything that had happened that week. And it seemed like he just couldn't contain his anger anymore. Nobody, not even Doc himself, was sure what had done it. Was it Fudge and Sally arguing with him over whether or not Lightning belonged in Radiator Springs? Or Fudge trying to spill the beans _again_? Whatever it was, it made Doc slap Fudge so hard that she stumbled backwards and slumped onto Sally's hood.

A shocked silence followed. For about two seconds. After that, Fudge started bawling. It had hurt her both physically and emotionally. The physical hurt was especially since he'd slapped her where her stitches were. And emotionally because nobody had _ever_ hit her like that before. After Mary, that mean social worker, had asked her about it, she had always feared that someone would do that to her. Now, Doc had.

Sally pulled the child in close to her and held her protectively (and made a pretty big show of it, glaring at Doc the whole time). She was speechless.

"That hurt!" Fudge whimpered, clinging to Sally.

The Porsche tried to recover from her disbelief to comfort the poor girl. "I know, I know", she stuttered, hugging her tighter. "It's okay, sweetie." She fixed her gaze on Doc yet again. "Doc! How could you _do_ that?!"

The Hudson Hornet didn't look even the least bit sympathetic as he said nothing in response.

Sally gave another disgusted grunt before storming off to return Fudge to her fathers.

"Fudge!" Luigi exclaimed, scooping his sobbing daughter onto his hood. "There you are!"

"(What is wrong?)" Guido asked.

"The reporters were all around me!" she wailed, still crying really hard. "One of them pushed me over! And Doc hit me!"

"Poor baby!" Luigi cried, bouncing her up and down a little bit. She was crying too hard that Luigi didn't hear _who_ she said hit her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but they were _mean_!" And they weren't the only ones!

"Paparazzi!" Guido remarked in disgust, kissing his daughter.

But it was too late to do anything about it. The "paparazzi" had left. But so had Lightning. And everyone was really upset about that. They all stared down the road sadly. Everyone was silent, except for Fudge, who was still crying and Luigi, who was shushing her gently as he bounced her up and down.

"I didn't get to say goodbye to him", Mater commented sadly.

Fudge glanced at him sympathetically through her tears. Sally was the only one who got the chance to say goodbye to Lightning.

Sally headed off back to the Cozy Cone where the first thing she did was switch the neon lights off. Slowly, everyone else also headed home, except for Doc.

"Fudge, let's get your bubble machine", Luigi instructed the human girl, just as they were about to enter Casa Della Tires. His voice was quiet and sounded depressed

"Okay." She stayed on Luigi's hood as he switched it off and picked it up, bringing it inside.

* * *

As Doc remained at the intersection by himself, he watched as the neon lights of the town flicked off one by one. It was clear that when Lightning had left, he'd taken all the hope and happiness with him. And the townsfolk were in no mood to celebrate. Then the traffic lights went back to only flashing yellow. That was when the Hudson Hornet began to feel guilty. It wasn't until that moment that he realised just how much Lightning had done for the town.

" _You should've seen it!_ " Fudge had informed Doc when she was recounting the celebrations going on. " _It was like magic! I had to find you! You were missing all the fun!_ "

 _What have I done?_ he wondered to himself.

 **Okay. I'm a little worried that I may have made Doc a little OOC here, but he is _very_ angry at this point. I kinda wanted Fudge to _really_ see Lightning as the good guy at this point and Doc as the bad guy, which is why I made him get that angry.**

 **Fun** **Fact: It can be hard to see, but when Lightning's saying goodbye to Sally, he _does_ have tears in his eyes.**

 **Please review.**


	17. California, Here We Come!

**Thanks for the positive reviews for the last chapter. Like I said, I was worried I made Doc a little too OOC, but I kind of figured that it would be okay. I mean, if you think about it, people _can_ get OOC when they're angry.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

 **Chapter 17- California, Here We Come!**

"I can't believe he's gone", Fudge remarked, snuggling down under the sheets on her bed. "At first, I wanted him to leave. Now, I miss him."

Luigi sighed as he finished folding up the khaki shorts and shirt (now, both they and the girl herself were free of stickers) Fudge had been wearing that day and put them away in her closet. "Me too, Fudge."

It was way past her bedtime. Once they'd gotten inside Casa Della Tires, Luigi had tried to calm her down. That took _hours_. Finally, when she was just sniffling, the Fiat got some Neapolitan ice cream out of the freezer and spoon fed his daughter to try and cheer her up.

* * *

"It looks very red where your stitches are, Fudgie", Luigi had observed, digging into the ice cream tub with the spoon he was holding. "Have you been scratching again?"

"No", the five-year-old had sniffled.

"Have you?" Luigi had repeated suspiciously, leaving the spoon hovering just out of Fudge's reach. That way, she couldn't get any ice cream till she told him what was going on.

"No!" she had insisted.

"Then why is it red here?" the Fiat had questioned.

"I don't know..."

"Fudge", Luigi had warned, raising an eye frame at her.

A pause followed. Fudge didn't want to talk about it, but she wanted Luigi to be sympathetic.

"Doc hit me!" Fudge had shouted.

Luigi paused. " _What_?!"

"He hit me, he hit me!" she had wept as her tears started up again.

"Sssh, sssh, sssh, sssh!" her father had whispered soothingly, placing the spoon in Fudge's mouth, allowing her to eat the ice cream. "It is okay, baby. Tell Luigi what happened. Why did Doc hit you?"

"I... I think he was mad at me!" With tears spilling down her cheeks, the little girl recounted the whole story as Luigi fed her ice cream. "Luigi?" she finished. "That mean lady asked me if anybody had ever smacked me... and... and you said that would never happen to me! And now... now Doc has!" She cried even more, having a huge coughing fit in the middle of it.

"Oh, _Fudgie_!" Luigi had exclaimed. "Is that why you are so upset?!" By that point, he was surprised to learn that everything Fudge had said about Doc being a race car was really true and that Doc had sent Lightning away. However, in that moment, he had to focus on his crying, upset daughter.

She had nodded.

"It is okay, angel!" the Fiat assured her softly, using the spoon to clean up a bit of ice cream that was dribbling down his daughter's chin. He gave her a kiss. "That was not your fault. Sometimes, people say and do things they don't mean when they are angry. I think this is one of those times."

She nodded again. "Okay..."

All of a sudden, Luigi tossed the spoon into the sink. "Okay", he announced. "Time for bed."

So, once the ice cream was safely returned to the freezer, Luigi took Fudge up to her room where he peeled off all of her stickers and changed her into her pyjamas. Then he took her to the bathroom to make sure she brushed her teeth before carrying her back to her room and depositing her in her bed.

* * *

Now, the child glimpsed out her window. She saw the same thing she'd always seen whenever she looked out her window at night. A dark and quiet town. But it was different this time. After seeing the town lit up like it had been before, it didn't seem right to have it this dark and quiet. Or for everyone to be this upset. In fact, Guido had taken himself off to sleep without seeing Fudge off to bed.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" Fudge quizzed her other father as he tucked her in.

"I don't know", Luigi answered honestly.

"Even if he comes back, I might not be in Radiator Springs!" Fudge reasoned. "I'm leaving soon, aren't I?"

Luigi paused. He wanted to tell her not to think about that, but that wouldn't do any good. She could think about it as much or as little as she wanted. But the facts were the facts. Fudge was leaving town. Leaving _him_. There was nothing that he or anybody else could say or do to change that.

Finally, Luigi responded with, "Well, I think you should get some sleep."

"Okay", she agreed, trying to get even more comfortable.

Luigi sighed. "You are not going to get any sleep, are you?"

"I miss Lightning."

The Fiat got the feeling that nobody in town would be getting much sleep that night. They would be all too busy thinking about Lightning. Well, Luigi couldn't do anything to help everyone in town, but he could help his daughter. So, he sang to her twelve songs and read her four stories before, at long last, she was fast asleep.

* * *

When he was satisfied that she was asleep, Luigi kissed her gently before he went to try and get some sleep himself, but didn't think that that was going to happen. So, he and Guido just stayed up in silence for hours and hours. That is, until they heard a piercing scream come from Fudge's bedroom.

As if they shared the one brain, both Italians made their way into their daughter's room as fast as they could to find her lying on the floor, bawling her eyes out.

"Fudgie!" Luigi exclaimed as Guido picked her up.

"I had another nightmare!" she wailed.

"(Poor baby!)" Guido kissed her. "(Was it bad?)"

" _Si_!" she wept. "(I was so scared that I... I fell out of bed! And I wet my pants again!)"

"Okay, okay!" Luigi stroked her hair and peeled off her sopping wet pyjama pants. "It is okay, Fudge! Let's just get you cleaned up!"

So, they did. After that, it was next to impossible to get her back to sleep.

"I don't wanna leave!" she wailed.

"I know, baby", Luigi sympathised. "This is hard for us too." He sighed and began to sing again until she was finally fast asleep once more.

* * *

But the tears weren't over yet. The first thing they had to do that morning was take Fudge over to Doc's to have her stitches taken out. She had had a huge tantrum that morning over having to see Doc. Luigi had been very understanding and assured his daughter that nobody was going to hit her. Plus, she cried while he removed the stitches. Granted not as much as she did when he first put the stitches _i_ _n_ , but still a fair bit.

"Come on, kiddo", Doc tried to comfort her. "It's fine. The stitches are comin' _out_. You're all right. I'm almost done."

Fudge just cried. She didn't really wanna talk to Doc. He sent Lightning away. And hit her.

"You're bein' a good girl, Fudge", he went on. He looked to the two Italians. "Boys, help me out here."

"It is okay, baby!" Luigi assured her. "Doc is almost finished!"

"But it hurts!" Fudge wept.

"I know! It is okay! This is not going to take as long as putting the stitches in!"

"There!" Doc announced at that moment. "That's it! Done!"

"Done?" she whimpered.

"Yeah. Done."

" _Grazie_ , Doc", Luigi thanked him.

* * *

Once Fudge had her lollipop, she and the other three headed over to Flo's where the rest of the townsfolk were gathered. Everyone was quiet. They were all thinking about Lightning. Sally wouldn't even _look_ at Doc. Neither could Fudge. She had to be nicer to Doc because he _had_ just given her a lollipop, but she was still mad at him. The others just assumed that it was because removing her stitches had hurt.

Doc had left Flo's to be by himself and the others discovered that Lightning was all over the news. They saw that all of the channels were talking about how he'd been found suddenly. There was footage, showing Lightning and the others in town and they showed a bunch of interviews. Including Fudge's.

"Hey, look!" the five-year-old cried happily, pointing at the screen. "That's _me_! I'm on TV!"

Everyone smiled at her.

" _So, Lightning McQueen will be competing in the three-way battle for the Piston Cup_ _alongside rivals The King and Chick Hicks_ _after all_ ", the RSN reporter, a lavender Porsche named Amy Winslow, announced. " _And it's all thanks to a tip from a Doc Hudson_."

" _What_?!" most of the townsfolk exclaimed in shock. Until that moment, Fudge, Sally and Luigi were the only ones who knew.

They were interrupted by the sight and sound of someone switching off the TV. It was Doc.

"So", Doc began, attracting everyone's attention, "last night, I did some thinkin'. The rookie has no pit crew, no crew chief and no friends. He's got no one to support him at this big race. So... what do ya say we head out to California to..."

He trailed off. He didn't need to finish his sentence. Everyone knew exactly where he was going and immediately agreed to his idea.

"Yeah! Great idea!" a bunch of them called out.

"Peet stop!" Guido shouted.

Sally smiled, happy that Doc had suggested that. But as happy as she was, she still decided to stay behind in Radiator Springs with Red and Lizzie.

* * *

Doc never apologised to his fellow cars for everything he'd done. Lied to them about being a famous race car, sending Lightning away, slapping Fudge. For some reason, an apology didn't seem necessary for the other cars. However, there was one apology he _did_ make. One he _did_ feel was necessary.

"Fudge, c'mere", he instructed her gently.

The five-year-old looked nervous, but crept closer to the old cobalt blue car and sat down on his hood.

Doc sighed. "I'm sorry I hit you", he informed her sincerely.

"You _hit_ Fudge?!" everyone except Doc, Fudge, Sally and Luigi gasped, appalled. " _When_?!"

"Not important", Doc insisted hurriedly.

"So, you hit Fudge _and_ sent my best buddy away?!" Mater asked, sounding hurt.

"Not important!" Doc repeated, turning back to Fudge. "I'm sorry, all right? I was angry over everythin' that's been goin' on and... and I took it out on you." By everything that had been going on, he didn't just mean Lightning. He meant his past as a race car.

"So..." Fudge remembered what Luigi had told her the night before. "You were mad and so, you did something you didn't mean."

The cobalt blue car nodded. "Exactly." He gave her a hug. "I love you, Fudge."

Fudge beamed and returned the hug. "I love you too, Doc!" She planted a kiss on his hood, making everyone smile.

* * *

Pretty soon, the entire town was making plans on what they could do to assist Lightning in the big race. Luigi and Guido got right to work, choosing the best tyres. Sarge and Fillmore were going to be in charge of his fuel. And Doc had a special request of Ramone.

"What are _you_ gonna do, Doc?" Fudge quizzed the Hudson Hornet as Ramone fulfilled his request.

"I'll be the crew chief."

"I know what that means!" Fudge declared proudly and she repeated to Doc exactly what a crew chief was. Doc smiled. For a five-year-old, Fudge knew an awful lot about racing. Watching those Ferrari races on TV with Luigi and Guido had really paid off.

"That's right", the Hudson Hornet confirmed when she was done with her explanation and Fudge beamed at the praise.

"Have you ever seen the human ones on TV who do that?!" These were called assistant crew chiefs. It wasn't a common thing, but not unheard of either, for some racers, in all forms of racing, to have a human ride with them on the track and assist the crew chief from there (well, some considered it an unfair advantage, but they had the disadvantage of carrying extra weight, so most race officials allowed it).

"Yeah I have", Doc informed her. "We even had a couple of those back when I raced."

"That looks like fun!" Fudge declared. "I might wanna do that when I grow up. And work in the tyre shop and be an author."

Doc was a combination of surprised and amused. He knew Fudge wanted to be an author and work in the tyre shop, but an assistant crew chief was new. In hindsight, he probably should've known. Fudge had always had an interest and extensive knowledge of racing. "Really?"

Fudge nodded. "Yeah! It looks like fun! But so does writing and the tyre shop! Luigi says I'm only five, so I don't have to decide right now."

The old car smiled. "Luigi's right."

"Did _you_ have a crew chief when you raced?" the five-year-old questioned.

"I sure did", Doc answered. "Not a human one, though. He was a truck."

"Who was your crew chief?"

"His name was Smokey." The old car paused, seemingly deep in thought. "Wow. I ain't thought about _him_ in a _long_ time."

"Do you miss Smokey?" Fudge questioned. Until Lightning left, Fudge had no idea what it was like to miss someone.

Doc was about to reply, looking so angry. But then his expression softened as he paused. He seemed so unsure. Finally, he responded with a quiet, "Yeah. Yeah I do."

Nobody said anything else till Ramone was done.

* * *

They couldn't have possibly known it, but Doc was remembering the end of his racing career. The huge fight that he had had with Smokey when he was told that he was history. After that, Doc wanted nothing to do with Smokey or his three closest racing friends- Junior "Midnight" Moon, River Scott and Louise "Barnstormer" Nash- or Dr. Marigold "Goldie" Smith, one of the human doctors/mechanics to whom the group became very close or their ever loyal friend, Herman. He hadn't spoken to any of them since then. He was mad at them because they reminded him of his racing and that was no reason to be mad at them. He knew that now. It wasn't until Fudge mentioned it that Doc realised that he actually missed them. He hadn't seen or heard from them in a long time. And he never _did_ ask Louise out...

* * *

"Everyone ready to go?" Doc quizzed the others when they all assembled at Flo's.

"Yeah!" Fudge responded.

"You excited?" Doc asked.

She nodded. "Yep. And nervous. I've never left Radiator Springs before."

"Well, it is okay", Luigi assured her. "You will have all of us there with you."

Fudge smiled. "Yeah. I know. I'm excited!"

"And I think we're gonna see a good race", Sheriff added. "I heard it's the first three-way tie in Piston Cup history."

That was true. The Piston Cup was supposed to have finished a week before, but Lightning McQueen, the rookie; Chick Hicks, the runner-up veteran and Strip "The King" Weathers, the retiring champion had all tied at the last race. So, this race would determine the winner of the Piston Cup.

"All right!" Sarge barked. "Let's go!"

So, they did. The townsfolk of Radiator Springs hit the road. Red cried as they left, which concerned Fudge. But she just smiled, waved and called goodbye to part of her family. They were on their way to Californ-I-A!

 **So, there's the chapter where they decide to go to the race.**

 **Even though I know that they weren't, I kind of like the idea that Hud and Louise _could've_ been a couple. And the human friend Doc had in the Piston Cup I mentioned will come up in later stories. However, she's not my character. She belongs to my friend, PinkCookie11, who has given me permission to use her.**

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter seventeen and will join me once again for chapter eighteen!**


	18. Radiator Springs Race Team

**Chapter 18- Radiator Springs Race Team**

"Are we nearly there?" Fudge wanted to know from her spot in Mater's truck bed, interrupting everyone else singing, "Life is a Highway".

"We still got a couple more hours, kiddo", Sheriff replied. He was giving them all the police escort that he'd offered Lightning.

"A couple more _hours_?!" she whined.

"Come on, soldier", Sarge piped up. "You're the one who wanted to travel to places like India and Russia and Australia. How are you gonna do that if you can't handle driving from Radiator Springs to Los Angeles?"

"She might be able to when she's older, man", Fillmore reasoned. "She's only five."

"Almost six!" Fudge reminded him. Then her mood dropped a little bit. She didn't want her sixth birthday to ever come.

"Well, Fudgie", Luigi piped up, sensing her mood, "why don't you draw some pictures of what you can see on your first road trip?" She had packed some paper and crayons in her backpack. "And when we get there, you can watch a good race. But not as good as the Ferrari races", he added with a smile.

Fudge lit up. "Okay!"

* * *

At long last, they arrived at the Los Angeles International Speedway. By then, the race was close to starting and there was a massive crowd. There was no way they were gonna get through in time! How were they gonna get to the pits? Things got tougher than they thought when, right as they were about to enter the pits through Entrance A113, security guards approached them.

"Hey!" one of them called out to the RS gang. "No admittance without a garage pass!"

Doc rolled forward. "It's all right! They're with me!"

The security guard gasped and his eyes widened. He was _speechless_!

"Oh! M- my apologies!" he sputtered once he seemed to have recovered from the shock a little bit, moving aside to allow them all through. "Yes! O- of course! G- go right ahead!"

The cars and human from Radiator Springs thanked him and went through.

The place was so overwhelming. Especially for Fudge. As a little girl from a small town, who had never seen so many people before (there were even more than there had been in Radiator Springs when Lightning was found), she found it _extremely_ overwhelming. Not only that, but with the amount of cars coming through, it was hard for her to stick with the others. She had jumped out of Mater's truck bed upon their arrival and was now thinking that that was a mistake.

"Hey! Move it, kid!" a green pitty for the green race car, Chick Hicks, barked at Fudge as he barged past her.

Fudge had no choice but to wait for him to get past. Then three more went past. And _they_ were followed by a bunch of reporters. By the time they'd all gotten past, the RS gang had disappeared from Fudge's view.

She glanced around nervously, not recognising anybody she saw. Where did they go? Where were the pits? Fudge didn't know. She remembered something Luigi had told her once. If she was ever lost, she should stay in the one spot till someone found her. So, that's what she did. Someone would find her. But when nobody did after five minutes, Fudge started to cry.

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were all busy getting the pits sorted. Lightning was still in his trailer and the only crew he thought he had was Mack. Boy, would he be surprised when he left the trailer. Doc and Sarge were quick to take charge. Doc because he had the most amount of experience of all of them and Sarge because he was just a natural leader.

"Move it to the right!"

"Fillmore! We need some fuel over here!"

"Is that all the tyres we got?!"

"Mater! Out of the way!"

"Look at what the other pits are doing!"

"No, Sarge! We have some more tyres here!"

"Well, what are they doing over there, Luigi?! We need tyres over here!"

That was when Sheriff uttered two words that none of them ever wanted to hear go together. "Where's Fudge?"

Immediately, everyone glanced around hurriedly to find an absence of the five-year-old.

"Who saw her last?!" Luigi demanded.

They all looked at Mater.

"She done jumped out when we got here!" the tow truck announced defensively. "I ain't seen 'er since!"

Doc sighed. "Let's go look for 'er!" He turned to Lightning's driver. "Mack, you stay here, so the rookie knows he has _some_ crew! And, of course, in case she comes back! Rest of you! Split up! We gotta find that kid! Now, does anyone remember what she was wearin'?"

Everyone obeyed without question. Lightning was completely oblivious to what was going on as he parked inside his trailer, eyes closed and trying to focus on the race.

"Okay", he murmured to himself. "Here we go. Focus. Speed. I am speed. Victory. One winner. Two losers. Speed... speed... speed... speed..."

He was losing focus. All he could think about was Radiator Springs. When he closed his eyes, he pictured the view from up at the Wheel Well, which was where Sally had taken him for their drive, and the smiling townsfolk. And he could've sworn he heard someone outside calling, "Fudge!" However, he dismissed it as being either his imagination or him mishearing a reporter or crew member or whoever else was out there.

Lightning found himself glancing at the only souvenir of Radiator Springs that he had left now that he'd gotten back into his racing paint job and tyres. Fudge's drawing. The sight of it brought a smile to his face and tears to his eyes. Fudge was such a sweet little kid and the thought of her leaving her home where everyone loved her broke his heart. She didn't deserve any of that. He wished that there was something- _anything_ \- he could do. Fixing his eyes on her drawing just made him want to give Fudge a big hug. Winning this race didn't seem to matter anymore. Not without his new friends there with him. Besides, what they, especially Fudge, were going through was much bigger than winning some dumb old race.

Before he could think about it for too long, there was a bang at the door.

"Hey, Lightnin'!" Mack called. "You ready?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah", he stammered. "I- I'm ready."

Reluctantly, he rolled out of the trailer and faced the reporters, but not without wiping his eyes free of the tears that had been forming inside of them. It was time for the big race.

When Lightning made it to his pits, only Mack was there because the others were still looking for Fudge (and he was completely oblivious to them attending the race at all!).

The 95 racer approached the big truck. "Mack, thanks for being my pit crew today."

"Eh, don't worry about it, kid", Mack countered casually. "It's the least I can do. After all, Gas Can _is_ my middle name."

"It is?"

"Eh, not really."

* * *

Fudge was beginning to get worried. The race had started. That worried her for two reasons. One, Lightning was off to a poor start. He'd been too busy thinking about Radiator Springs that he missed the green flag completely and was behind. And two, nobody had found her yet. Even when she had started crying, people looked at her, but nobody thought to help her or ask if she was okay. Why didn't they care? She was just a little girl. Why weren't they helping her? Were her family looking for her? Fudge didn't know. What if she never saw them again? What if she had to leave without finding them and had to-

"Fudge!" a voice called out. " _There_ you are!"

The five-year-old turned at the sound of her name. She recognised that voice. It was...

"Sarge!" she whimpered, running towards him and giving him a big hug.

He picked the crying child up. "Where've you been, soldier?" he questioned. "We've been looking all over for you."

"I've been right here!" she sobbed.

"What happened?"

Fudge explained how all of the cars came through and she couldn't see any of the others.

"All right. Well, good thing you stayed in the one spot. Let's go!"

"You got her, man?!" Fillmore made his way through the crowd.

"Yeah! She's here!"

"All right. I'll go tell the others!"

* * *

"There is my little angel!" Luigi exclaimed when Fudge and Sarge returned to the pits. He took her from the Jeep and cuddled her.

"(Where have you been?)" Guido wanted to know.

She told him. "I was so scared!" she wept, clinging to Luigi.

"Sssh... Sssh..." the small Italian car whispered soothingly. "You are here now, angel." He kissed her gently. "Luigi's here... Luigi's here."

"And now, we can get back to work", Doc added, taking his place at the top of a stand where the crew chief parked. "The rookie needs us."

"What does _rookie_ mean?"

Luigi told her and Fudge nodded, understanding.

"What can _I_ do to help?" Fudge wondered.

Doc smiled at her. "Whenever Lightnin' comes past", he instructed the girl, "you cheer as loud as you can, all right? You can do that, can't you, kiddo?"

Fudge nodded eagerly. She stopped crying and turned her attention back to the race.

 **At the moment, Fudge is just cheering. I guess that's kind of the start of her becoming the cheerleader.**

 **Please review.**


	19. The Big Race

**Chapter 19- The Big Race**

Fifty laps past by quickly. The King was still in the lead. Lightning was still behind, but he was trying to catch up to Chick Hicks. However, Chick did not like that at all. So, he came forward right in front of Lightning right before he could overtake.

"Chick's not making it easy on him today", one of the announcers, Bob Cutlass, commented.

"Oh, man!" the other announcer, Darrell Cartrip exclaimed. "He lost so much momentum! Now, he's gonna have to chase him back down!"

So, Lightning was still stuck in last place and, all of a sudden, spun out! Nobody really knew why, but he just didn't seem focused at all. Well, none of the fans or the press knew why, but his pit crew did. He was too busy thinking about Radiator Springs. The RS gang knew it.

"Hey, kid!" Mack radioed. "You all right?"

"I don't know, Mack", Lightning responded with a sigh. "I... I don't think I-"

He was cut off by Doc. "I didn't come all this way to see you quit."

"Doc?" Lightning glanced over at his pits to see his friends from Radiator Springs cheering him on. This cheered him up immensely. "Guys! You're here! I can't believe this!"

"I knew you needed a crew chief", the Hudson Hornet began over the radio, "but I didn't know it was _this_ bad."

"I thought you said you'd never come back", Lightning reminded him.

"Well", Doc replied, "I really didn't have a choice. Mater didn't get to say goodbye."

" **GOODBYE!** " the tow truck yelled. "Okay, I'm good!"

Lightning laughed. So did Fudge.

The 95 racer came into the pits and Sarge and Fillmore filled him with gas.

"Hi!" Fudge greeted him excitedly.

Lightning smiled at her. "Hi... You okay?" Even though Fudge wasn't crying anymore, Lightning could tell that she had been.

"She got lost", Luigi explained.

"Poor kid", the racer remarked sympathetically.

"All right", Doc intervened. "Hate to break up the reunion, but you got a race to win. Now, if you can drive as good as you can fix a road, then you can win this race with your eyes shut! Now, get back out there!"

Lightning grinned and rocketed it out of the pits.

"Hot snot! We are back in business!" Doc declared. "Guido! Luigi!" The two Italians shifted their attention away from their daughter and on Doc. "You're goin' up against professional pit crews, boys. You're gonna have to be fast."

"They will not know what bit them!" Luigi proclaimed determinedly.

"Kid", Doc informed Lightning, "you can beat these guys. Find a groove that works for you and get that lap back." He was an entire lap behind the other two competitors.

Lightning obeyed.

"Wow!" Fudge exclaimed, delighted at the sight of the three race cars. "They're really fast! I wish _I_ was that fast! Then I could be a race car like Lightning!"

Doc chuckled. Fudge sure wanted to go fast. Though, he didn't want her to ever go that fast, He cared about her too much to watch her get hurt like that.

And as the racers zoomed around the track, the other pit crews took notice of Doc. They nudged each other, whispered excitedly and stared. Soon, they weren't the only ones who had noticed.

"Darrell, it appears McQueen has got himself a pit crew", Bob Cutlass observed. "And _look_ who he has for a crew chief!"

The cameras all turned to Doc (I'm sorry, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet), highlighting him on the big screen. Fudge could see herself in the corner of the screen and waved. She knew it was supposed to be about Doc, but she couldn't resist.

"Wow, this is history in the making!" Bob went on. " _Nobody_ has seen the racing legend in over fifty years!"

"But _we've_ seen him!" Fudge commented to nobody in particular.

"No", Doc corrected her. "You've seen _Doc_ Hudson. It's been a while since even _I've_ seen the _Fabulous Hudson Hornet_." He couldn't help smiling. "And I'm glad he's back."

As a five-year-old, Fudge didn't really understand what he meant. It took her several years before she did.

* * *

Several laps later, Lightning passed The King and Chick.

"But he's still nearly a lap down!" Darrell reminded viewers.

"Can he catch up to them with only sixty laps to go?" Bob wondered.

"You're doing great, kid", Doc informed Lightning. "Just keep your head on."

" _Vai_!" Guido cheered, Fudge joining in. " _Vai, vai_!"

"Hey, shrimpie!" one of Chick's crew members called to Guido teasingly. "Where did McQueen find you, huh?! Those round things are called _tyres_ , and they go _under_ the car!" They all laughed like it was the funniest thing ever.

Guido rolled forward, yelling in Italian.

Luigi stopped his best friend. "No! No, no!" He came in between them, Guido crossing his forks in fury. "You will have your chance, Guido. _You will have your chance_."

* * *

As the race wore on, Chick got up to his usual dirty tricks again. The RS gang had heard that Chick was a car who let nothing stand in his way and did anything to win, including cheating and causing deliberate crashes.

"Oh!" he exclaimed as Lightning tried to pass him. "Kid's just trying to be a hero, huh?" Lightning was right about to pass. "Well, what do you think of this?" He rammed into Lightning, causing him to spin. "Yeah, that's it, kid!"

But Lightning had other plans. He managed to straight himself out and drove backwards after Chick.

" _What_?!" Chick exploded.

"Whoa!" Mater exclaimed. "Git R done!"

Fudge laughed and cheered, clapping her hands in pure delight.

When Lightning overtook Chick and turned the right way around, Mater turned to the green race car's pitties proudly. "I taught him that! Ka-chow!" He flashed his rearview mirror, causing them to squint.

"What a move by McQueen!" Bob exclaimed. "He's caught up to the leaders!"

"Oh, yeah!" Darrell cried. "This is what it's all about! A three-way battle for the lead with ten to go!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Guido got his chance. The chance for his dream to come true. Chick was trying to pass Lightning, but the younger racer swerved in front of him every time. Then Chick got level with him and rammed into him.

"No you don't!"

 **BANG!**

"Doc! I'm flat, I'm flat!" Lightning radioed.

"Can you get back to the pits?" Doc questioned.

"Yeah, yeah!" the race car replied. "I think so!"

"Hey! Got a yellow!" Doc announced. "Bring it in! Don't tear yourself up, kid!"

The yellow flag was out. Lightning made his way to the pits.

"Yellow flag means caution!" Fudge sang, taking another opportunity to show off her impressive racing knowledge.

"We gotta get him back out there fast or we're gonna be a lap down and we'll _never_ win this race!" Mack wailed, which was _exactly_ what everyone was worried about.

"Guido!" Doc called. "It's time!"

Guido took on the most serious expression he could muster as Lightning rolled in.

"Hey, tiny!" one of Chick's pitties ridiculed. "You gonna clean his windshield?!"

The others laughed as Guido whirred his wrench.

It happened so fast. Guido threw his tyres in the air and got right to work changing them. He got them all done in a matter of seconds and Lightning was off! Chick's pitties' grilles fell off and dropped to the ground. Except for one. The ringleader's grille remained on his face.

"I don't believe it!" Darrell gasped.

"That was the fastest pit stop I've ever seen!" Bob remarked.

"It was a great stop, but he's still gotta beat that pace car out!" Darrell reminded the viewers.

"It's gonna be close!" Bob noted as Lightning attempted to beat the yellow pace car on the track. Everyone watched nervously. It _was_ gonna be close and...

He made it just inches before the pace car.

"Yeah! He's back in the race!" Darrell shouted.

Guido blew the edge of his wrench. "Pit stop!" he announced, glaring at Chick's crew as if to say, _And_ that's _how it's done!_

And that was it. The last forklift's grille came off.

Everyone crowded around, cheering for the little blue forklift.

"Guido, you did it!"

"Way to go, Guido!"

"(Go, Guido! I love you!)" Fudge kissed her father and gave him the biggest hug she could.

Guido just smiled proudly.

 **So, there's the first part of the race. I decided to make the final lap its own individual chapter, so I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**

 **I just love the part where Guido proves Chick's team wrong! It's just so awesome! Now that I think about it, I haven't seen the first movie in ages. Maybe I should.**

 **Anyway, there's about five or six chapters left of this story. Then I will be focusing on really getting into _Ride_ , which I hope you enjoy as well. At the moment, I feel like there are parts of that a bit all over the place, but I'm gonna try and fix that before you guys see it.**

 **Well, I guess that's it. Hope to see you soon for chapter twenty!**


	20. The Final Lap

**So, today is my four-year anniversary of joining FFN. Yay me! Joining this site has been one of the best decisions I've ever made and I'll forever be grateful to all of the friends I've made here!**

 **Anyway, to celebrate, I'm gonna post the next chapter of** ** _Life Could Be a Dream_** **! I really hope you enjoy that.**

 **Chapter 20- The Final Lap**

"This is it!" Bob Cutlass announced. "We're heading into the final lap and McQueen is right behind the leaders! What a comeback!"

"A hundred and ninety nine laps and, baby, it all comes down to this!" Darrell exclaimed excitedly.

"This is it, kiddo", Doc radioed to Lightning. "You got four turns left. One at a time. Drive it in deep and hope it sticks. Go!"

Lightning obeyed, chasing after the other two racers. He tried to overtake Chick, who kept swerving to block him and ram him into the wall. He hit Lightning, sending him spinning into the grass. But Chick had problems of his own. He had lost control when he hit Lightning and slammed into The King.

"Chick and The King are loose!" Bob observed.

"I think McQueen is out of the race!" Darrell added.

No. He wasn't. He used the "turn right to go left" trick Doc had taught him. Only this time, after seeing Doc do it, he nailed it! He glided across the grass just like Doc had, dirt flying behind him, almost looking like flames to Fudge. Doc's eyes widened and he smiled, seeing that Lightning had finally gotten it right. Fudge smiled too. It looked just how Doc had demonstrated a couple of days earlier. Then Lightning straightened himself out, getting back on the asphalt and taking the lead.

"McQueen saved it!" Darrell cried.

"He's back on the track!" Bob added.

"Float like a Cadillac!" Doc began.

"Sting like a Beemer!" Lightning finished.

* * *

The crowd went wild as Lightning roared into the lead.

"Lightning McQueen is gonna win the Piston Cup!" Darrell exclaimed.

"Come on! You've got it!" Sally cried, watching with Red and Lizzie back home in Radiator Springs. "You've got it, Stickers!"

"Go, Lightning!" Fudge screamed, jumping up and down in anticipation.

It sure looked like Lightning was gonna win, creating excitement throughout the stadium and in countless homes around the entire country. Could it be? Was Lightning McQueen gonna be the first rookie to win the Piston Cup and that lucrative Dinoco sponsorship? It looked like there was no question about it. But then, something that nobody saw coming happened.

With Lightning in the lead, The King and Chick were battling it out for second. That position was currently held by The King while Chick was in third- or last- place. And he was not happy about that at all.

He groaned. "I am _not_ coming in behind you again, old man!"

With that, he slammed into the older champion, sending him flying. Guido turned Fudge away while everyone else watched in shock as The King rolled several times in the grass before coming to a stop, crumpled, dented and scratched.

Gasps were heard all throughout the stadium, everyone astonished by what they saw. Fudge struggled in Guido's arms and her eyes widened as the sight of The King reminded her of something else.

Lightning must have been thinking the same thing because he stopped and stared at the big screen. All of a sudden, the sound of squealing tyres filled the speedway. Lightning was slamming on his brakes. Right in front of the finish line. The already-silent crowd somehow seemed to become quieter. Most of them were confused about what Lightning was doing. Especially when Chick shot right past him, to Chick's delight.

"Luigi? What's he doing?" Fudge wondered.

"Yeah!" Chick cheered, doing donuts. "I won, baby! Yeah! Oh, yeah!"

"What's he up to, Doc?" Flo questioned.

Doc just smiled. He knew.

* * *

Sure enough, Lightning reversed down the track and approached The King.

"What are you doing, kid?" the retiring champion asked.

"I think The King should finish his last race", Lightning replied.

He began pushing him across the track towards the finish line!

"You just gave up the Piston Cup", The King reminded him. "You know that?"

"Eh, some grumpy old race car I know once told me something", Lightning informed him. "It's just an empty cup."

The RS gang's faces broke out into smiles.

"Darrell, is pushing on the last lap _legal_?!" Bob Cutlass wondered.

"Hey, man, he's not really pushing him", Darrell Cartrip corrected his fellow announcer. "He's just giving him a little bump draft."

Although Chick won the race, nobody really cared. The crowd went wild for Lightning and The King as they crossed the finish line. Nobody was prouder than the RS gang.

" _Bravo, il mio amico_!" Luigi yelled.

"Way to go, buddy!" Mater hollered.

"There's a lot of love out there, you know, man", Fillmore commented to Sarge.

"Don't embarrass me, Fillmore", was Sarge's only response.

"Yay, Lightning!" Fudge shrieked as loud as she could, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

And Sally watched from home with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

* * *

Once Lightning had dropped The King off at the Dinoco tent with his wife, he rolled over to the Rust-Eze tent where his sponsors, Rusty and Dusty, were waiting for him along with Mack, several other cars that worked for them and the RS gang.

"You made us proud, kid!" Rusty informed him.

"Congrats on the loss, me bucko!" Mack added.

But Lightning focused only on Doc, who was smiling at him.

"You got a lot of stuff, kid."

Lightning returned the smile. "Thanks, Doc."

Fudge ran up to the race car and scrambled onto his hood. "You deserved to win!"

Lightning laughed. "Hey, Fudge-O! How's your head?"

"Better", Fudge answered. "Doc took out the stitches!"

"Oh, that's good!" he remarked. "Hey. Sorry about pushing you into that wall."

She shrugged. "That's okay."

"No, it's not!" he insisted. "I was a jerk to a lot of people."

"Well, now, you're not", Fudge pointed out. "Now, you're nice." She gave him a big hug. "I love you."

Lightning couldn't stop smiling as he returned the hug. "I love you too, Fudge."

The five-year-old beamed.

* * *

"Hey, Lightnin'!" a voice called out. It belonged to a golden Cadillac, who the group later found out was Tex, the owner of Dinoco. "How about comin' over here and talk to me a minute?"

"Okay, Fudge-O." Lightning put her down. "I think Luigi wants you back now." He made his way over to Tex.

"Son, that was some real racin' out there", Tex remarked. "How'd you like to become the new face of Dinoco?"

Lightning couldn't believe it. This was everything he'd ever dreamed of! He looked past Tex at the Dinoco tent with their truck and their pitties and their helicopter.

"But I didn't win", Lightning pointed out.

"Lightnin'", Tex began, "there's a whole lot more to racin' than just winnin'."

Lightning glanced back at the Rust-Eze guys.

"He was so rusty", one of them joked, "that when he drove down the street, buzzards used to circle the car!"

Fudge didn't get it, but the others laughed. Well, actually, Fudge _still_ laughed; she just laughed when other people did sometimes.

"Thank you, Mr. Tex", Lightning responded politely, "but... but these Rust-Eze guys over there gave me my big break. I'm gonna stick with them."

It was official. Lightning McQueen had given up everything he'd ever dreamed of that day.

"Well", Tex informed him, "I sure can respect that. "Still, you know, if there's ever anythin' I can do for you, just let me know."

"Well, I sure appreciate that. Thank you." The 95 racer paused. "Actually... there is _one_ thing..."

 **So, there you go! There's only one more chapter left from the movie, but there will still be a couple of original chapters after that. After all, I introduced something at the start and I'm sure you'll all want to know how that ends up.**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and can't wait for the next one.**


	21. Return to Radiator Springs

**Figured I might as well finish off the events of the movie. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 21- Return to Radiator Springs**

"Where are we going?" Fudge quizzed the others.

"You'll see when we get there!" Lightning told her for the hundredth time.

Fudge remained silent, but couldn't help but wonder where she was being taken.

It was the day after the tiebreaker race and the RS gang had informed Sally, Red and Lizzie that they would be a day later than they expected coming home because Lightning said he had a surprise for Fudge, which had them take her to a mystery location.

"Here we are!" Luigi announced ten minutes later, prompting Fudge to gasp.

" **DISNEYLAND!** " she squealed.

"That's right!" Lightning confirmed. "We're gonna spend the whole day here!"

"Oh, my gosh! Thank you!" Fudge exclaimed, hugging Lightning. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, **THANK YOU!** "

The race car smiled. "No problem. Now, let's have some fun, all right?"

"Yeah!" Fudge cheered.

And that they did. It truly was a great day of fun and laughter. Fudge went on lots of rides with Mater, Lightning and Ramone (none of the others really liked theme park rides, though Luigi and Guido joined her on some).

" **THIS IS AWESOME!** " Fudge screamed every time she went on a new ride.

They also went shopping for souvenirs, watched parades and other shows, ate ice cream and Fudge had lots of photos of her taken with all of the Disney characters. Yep. Definitely a day that Fudge would never _ever_ forget.

By the end of the day, when they returned to the hotel, Fudge was fast asleep in Guido's arms. She had a balloon tied around her wrist and was wearing Mickey Mouse ears that she'd gotten that day with FUDGE written on them. She'd also gotten a notebook and pen as well as some toys and a new T-shirt, all of which were in a bag Luigi was carrying. Lightning smiled at the sight of her, sleeping peacefully (he'd never seen her asleep before and thought she looked so cute in that state). She'd been exhausted, but he took that as a sign that she'd had a good day and was happy with that fact.

* * *

And that was only one of the many surprises Lightning had in store for the town of Radiator Springs. There were plenty more to come. Like the favour he had asked of Tex after the race...

"Whoo-hoo!" a certain tow truck hollered with glee somewhere above the town of Radiator Springs. "Hey! Look at me! I'm flyin'! By golly!"

"You mean _we're_ flying!" a certain five-year-old human girl chimed in from his side, sounding just as excited.

Yes. Lightning had kept his promise. When talking to Tex, he mentioned how Mater and Fudge had wanted a helicopter ride and Tex assured him that it was no trouble at all. And when they gave the news to Mater and Fudge... Boy! You would've thought they'd died and gone to heaven.

Lightning had rolled back over to the RS gang with Tex following. The former called out, "Hey, Mater! Fudge!" The two perked up at the sound of their names. "How'd you two like a ride in a helicopter?!"

Immediately, two pairs of eyes widened and two jaws dropped.

"Dad-gum! Would we?!" Mater had shrieked.

"Reallyreally _really_?!" Fudge had squealed, bouncing up and down.

"Sure", Lightning answered. "I _did_ promise you, after all. And I got another surprise for you tomorrow." (That was Disneyland.)

"We got a Dinoco helicopter right here", Tex informed them, gesturing to it nearby. "And you're more than welcome to take it out."

"Luigi! Guido!" Fudge cried excitedly. "Did you hear that?! I'm gonna get a ride in a helicopter! I'm gonna get a ride in a helicopter!" She hugged Lightning fiercely. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

Guido and Luigi smiled. So did everyone else.

* * *

So, when they returned to Radiator Springs, the Team Dinoco helicopter got filled up with fuel and Fudge and Mater got inside, Fudge strapped into the seatbelt. Then he took off, promising them he'd take them for as long as they wanted. Boy, was he gonna be in the air for a long time!

"Hi!" Fudge called down, waving to the townsfolk on the ground, who were watching the helicopter. She couldn't stop laughing. "Hi!"

From the ground, everyone smiled. It made them happy to know that Mater and Fudge were most likely having so much fun.

"Dad-gum!" Mater exclaimed, looking where Fudge was. "You can see everythin' and everyone from up here!"

"Yeah!" a giggling Fudge agreed. "Everyone looks like little ants from up here!"

"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park!" Mater declared.

* * *

That wasn't the only kind thing Lightning had done for the town upon his return to Radiator Springs. While Fudge and Mater were enjoying the rides of their life in the helicopter, Luigi and Guido were inside Casa Della Tires, staring at the tyre display.

"I think it's about-a time we redecorate", Luigi commented thoughtfully.

They were interrupted by the revving of a powerful engine as three cars rolled into Casa Della Tires. One of them was... a red Ferrari!

" _Ciao_!" he greeted them. "Hi. Lightning McQueen told me this was the best place in the world to get tyres. How about setting me and my friends up with three or four sets each?"

Luigi gasped happily, hardly able to speak. "Guido!" he finally managed to choke out. "There is a _real_ Michael Schumacher Ferrari in my store! **A** ** _REAL_** **FERRARI!** " He turned to the little blue forklift. "Punch me, Guido! Punch me in the face! _This_ is the most glorious day of my life!" (Good thing Fudge wasn't there to hear him say that; not that he would've meant it. Nothing could top when his daughter was born and when he officially adopted her.) And with that, Luigi fainted.

"Wow." The Ferrari turned to Guido and spoke to him in Italian.

And... Guido fainted too. (It really _was_ a good thing Fudge wasn't there to see them do that; she would've been so scared!)

* * *

While all of that was going on, Sally stared up at the Wheel Well Motel until, like Luigi and Guido had done, she heard an engine revving. And she knew that there was only one car who that could be.

They both chuckled before Sally asked, "Just passing through?"

"Actually, I thought I'd stop and stay a while", Lightning corrected her. He was sporting what appeared to be a combination of his racing paint job and the one Ramone had given him when he surprised Sally with the neon lights. He moved closer and added, "I hear this place is back on the map."

"It is?" Sally questioned.

"Yeah, some rumour floating around that some hotshot Piston Cup race car is setting up his big racing headquarters here", Lightning explained casually.

" _Really_?!" Sally gasped. "Oh, well, there goes the town."

"And it's not just cars that wanna come by to see that", Lightning rushed on. "Some _humans_ I know wanna check it out as well."

Sally smiled broadly. That meant that Fudge might be able to stay after all. She couldn't believe just how much he had done for the town and was continuing to do so.

"You know, I really missed you, Sally", Lightning informed her.

"Well, I create feelings in others they themselves don't understand and, uh... blah, blah, blah, blah."

Lightning chuckled and they were about to move in for a kiss when...

"McQueen and Sally parked beneath a tree!" an adult male southern accent and a little girl's American-Italian accent chanted from somewhere above them.

"K-I-S-S, uh... I-N-T!" Mater concluded.

"You two should just kiss already!" Fudge added.

"Great timing, guys!" Lightning called to them.

"Hi!" Fudge shouted.

"Hey, sweetie!" Sally replied. "You having fun?"

"Yeah! I'm having fun! I went to Disneyland yesterday and I got a helicopter ride today! Thank you, Lightning!"

"You're welcome, sweetie!" Lightning responded while Sally stared at him in amazement. Going to Disneyland was news to her.

"Hep-non, hip-hep, hi-li-lilly!" Mater yelled as the helicopter turned and headed back to town. Whatever _that_ meant. "Whee!"

Lightning and Sally looked at each other once they were gone.

"He's my best friend", Lightning reminded Sally. "What are you gonna do?"

"So, Stickers, last one to Flo's buys?" Sally suggested.

"I don't know. Why don't we just take a drive?"

Sally pretended to think about it. "Hmmm... Nah!" Then she sped off in the direction of the town, sending dust flying.

"Yeah!" Lightning cheered. "Ka-chow!" He grinned and chased after his new girlfriend.

On his way back to town, Lightning couldn't help admiring the scenery and thinking about how much had changed over the last week and a bit. He'd thought he'd had it all, but then he discovered everything that he'd been missing. He'd found a new crew chief, who he was probably going to stick with, a new home, new friends, a new family, a new girlfriend and even a new self. And he wouldn't trade any of that for all of the Piston Cups or lucrative sponsorships in the world.

* * *

"You guys have a good time?" Lightning quizzed Mater and Fudge later that night as they met up with the others at Flo's.

The sky was pitch black by that point and the two had insisted on getting an aerial view of the neon lights of the town's stores before returning to the ground.

Fudge nodded, unable to wipe the huge, silly grin off her face. "That was _awesome_!"

"It sure was!" Mater agreed.

"And we said thank you to the helicopter!" Fudge added before anybody could ask, knowing that they would. She hugged Lightning again. "And thank _you_ , Lightning!"

"You're welcome", the race car responded.

"Yes", Luigi agreed. " _Grazie_. You have made Fudgie very happy. And you have made Guido and me happy as well."

"Oh, the Ferrari came, did he?" Lightning questioned.

Luigi nodded. "Yes he did."

"Ferrari?" Fudge echoed curiously.

"Fudgie, we had a real Ferrari in our store!" Luigi exclaimed joyfully. "I wish you were there!" (However, since he and Guido had both fainted, he still thought that it was for the best that she wasn't.)

"Sounds awesome!" Fudge commented.

"Do _you_ like Ferraris, Fudge?" Lightning questioned.

"I have to", she replied with a smile.

Lightning chuckled.

"Yesterday and today were the best days ever!" Fudge declared happily.

"Well, did you say thank you to Mr. Tex?" Lightning asked the five-year-old, indicating to the Cadillac, meaning he wanted her to say thank you to him.

"Thank you, Mr. Tex!" Fudge obeyed in her singsong, best-little-girl-in-the-world voice.

Tex smiled at her. "You're welcome, darlin'. Ya know, you can get another ride in the helicopter anytime you want."

Fudge's eyes lit up. " _Really_?!"

"Anytime", Tex repeated.

"Within reason", Doc added before Fudge could say anything else.

"Thank you, Mr. Tex!" Fudge repeated, hugging the wealthy Texan, making him smile.

"Well, you can always do that another time", Luigi piped up, scooping his daughter onto his hood. "For now, I think it is Fudgie's bedtime."

"Okay!" Fudge agreed easily. She was in such a great mood. It truly had been a perfect day for all of them and they had the feeling that there were gonna be many more perfect days like this.

 **Yeah... Remember how earlier on in the story Fudge mentioned that she wanted to go to Disneyland? Well, even if _you_ forgot, Lightning didn't! So, he took her. I've referenced the RS gang having a tradition of going to Disneyland every year after the LA race a couple of times and there's where it all began. **

**Well, that's pretty much the end of the movie, but there are a couple of references to the epilogue and a few more chapters to go, so I hope you enjoy those.**


	22. Back on the Map

**So, this chapter will include details of the epilogue scene as well as show how everyone's dealing with the new customers. Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 22- Back on the Map**

Things really began to change around Radiator Springs in a very short amount of time. After Radiator Springs and (Historic) Route 66 returned to the map, they had more customers than ever and things didn't stop with the currently-operating businesses. All of the old stores got reopened as well. So was the drive-in theatre and Sarge finally got to open up a boot camp like he always wanted.

Lightning McQueen's racing headquarters was under construction as well, which they hoped and believed would attract more tourists. With more visitors coming through, it became pretty hard to book a room at the Cozy Cone. So... Ta-dah! The Wheel Well was getting ready to be reopened. Everyone was so excited.

* * *

Well, there was _one_ resident who wasn't _quite_ as happy about the massive changes as the rest: a little human girl by the name of Fudge Rossi-Topolino. Don't get Fudge wrong. She was happy that everyone else was happy and it was good to see some other humans for the first time in her life. Plus, she loved Lightning. He was still new and interesting to her and so, she had taken to following him around like a lost puppy. Especially when he managed to achieve the impossible: talked Doc, Luigi _and_ Guido into letting him take her for a couple of fast laps around Willy's Butte, which wasn't easy _at all_.

"This is _awesome_!" Fudge exclaimed gleefully. She was on Lightning's roof as he raced around the track beside Doc. All three of them were whooping happily.

"Yeah! I'm sure you're havin' fun, now Lightnin' can race on dirt!" Doc teased.

"Yeah, yeah!" Lightning retorted, but he was grinning.

"Well, you sure ain't no dirt boy!" Doc declared.

"Not today, old man!" Lightning agreed. "I know all your tricks!"

But, all of a sudden, Doc gave a yell as he drove straight off the edge of the track!

"Doc!" Lightning shouted. "Doc!"

"Where did he go?!" Fudge demanded worriedly.

Luckily, they didn't have to worry for too long because Doc gave another yell. Then he leapt out, seemingly out of nowhere and was racing across the track again.

"Not _all_ my tricks, rookie!" he called back to Lightning.

"He got us!" Fudge exclaimed in disbelief. "Come on, Lightning! Faster! We gotta beat him!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" The race car shot off after Doc, much to Fudge's delight.

* * *

So, that was the fun part of Lightning's return and putting the town back on the map, as far as Fudge was concerned. So, what was the problem? It was just that... well... for a human girl who had lived in a small, quiet and empty town all of her life without any other humans or people her own age, this took a little bit of getting used to. For one thing, it was overwhelming having so many cars and humans flooding into these once empty streets. More people would try to talk to her and she wouldn't know what to say. Plus, she had to be even more careful where she was going...

One day, Fudge had been playing with one of her balls and, when it rolled onto the road, she had just ran out into the middle of the intersection to try and retrieve it.

Luckily, Sheriff had witnessed the whole thing while keeping an eye on the town and his eyes widened in alarm. "Fudge? Fudge!"

He raced forward and grabbed hold of her, yanking her away from the busy intersection where cars had been swerving to avoid her.

"You can't _do_ that, Fudge!" he scolded her.

Fudge gazed up at him with wounded eyes for a moment before she burst into tears.

"Hey, it's all right, Fudge", he assured her, scooping her onto his hood. "It's all right. Just be _careful_ next time, kiddo, all right?"

"I don't like having all of these cars here!" she wept.

"I know, Fudge, but you know what's goin' on", Sheriff reminded her. "If they ain't here, _you_ ain't here either!"

Fudge cried harder, horrified by the thought.

Sheriff sighed and started to drive off. "Come on, kiddo. Let's take you home."

* * *

For another thing, her family just didn't have time for her the way they used to. Before any of them had customers, the townsfolk could spend pretty much as much time as they wanted with Fudge. Now, not so much...

"Oh, Fudge, I _want_ to", they would begin remorsefully when she asked them if they wanted to play or try to show them the story or drawing she'd completed, "but I can't right now. I have a lot of work to do. Why don't you go and find the other kids in town and play with them? Sally said there were some kids staying at the Cozy Cone about your age."

Well, Fudge _tried_ that. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but none of other the kids seemed interested in her. She didn't know some of the same games as them, she just babbled on about her favourite topics that nobody else seemed to care about and she just simply didn't interact with them in the same way as they did with each other. So, now, Fudge spent a lot of her time just sat drawing or playing with her toys by herself. Or just being miserable because she thought that nobody wanted her or even _liked_ her.

* * *

"We just gotta give 'er time", Doc explained to the others at Flo's one evening while Fudge was at home with Guido giving her a bath. "Havin' our town back on the map is great for _us_ , but it's all just one big change for _her_. We gotta let her adjust. She'll get used to this."

"I hope so", Luigi declared. "I have seen the other children playing. She doesn't seem to ever be part of the group. Even when they _let_ her play. And even that is not often."

"I'm sure when she's gotten used to bein' around other kids her age, she'll have plenty of friends", Doc assured him. "But for now, she's just tryin' to figure out how to behave around 'em. She's used to bein' the only kid. She ain't sure how to behave around other kids."

Luigi nodded. "Yes. I am sure you are right."

Still, he decided he wanted to have a talk to her.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Luigi questioned his daughter later that night as he put her to bed. Guido had bathed her and put her into pyjamas, but then he went down to take care of some more customers when Luigi requested that he talked to Fudge.

She nodded as she crawled under the bedsheets. "Yeah. Why?"

"I am just worried about you", Luigi explained as he pulled the covers over her. "You have not been yourself since all of the new customers arrived."

"I know that's what we wanted", she explained, "but it all just changed. I don't like it." She paused and added, "Nobody cares about me anymore."

"Fudgie!" Luigi took her hand. "What makes you say that?"

"You're all too busy to play with me", she replied. "Nobody wants to do anything with me anymore..." She trailed off and hesitated. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to what she was about to ask, but she _had_ to ask. "Do you guys still _want_ me? Or now that you have customers, do you not want me anymore?"

"Fudgie!" Luigi repeated. He kissed the top of her head. "Of _course_ we do!"

"Then why do you not have time for me anymore?"

"Look, Fudge, I _know_ that this change is hard for you", Luigi informed her. "And do you want to know something? It is hard for us as well."

That was just about the last thing Fudge expected to hear. " _Really_?"

Luigi nodded. "Yes. Fudgie, Guido and I have had customers before and we have had a daughter before, but we have never had both at the same time before. Guido and I have to take care of both. I am trying to make this work for all of us. I know it does not feel like it to you right now, but I am. And so is Guido. Maybe it will take some time to make this work, but we will keep trying until we do, okay?" He couldn't help but think that maybe it wouldn't matter. Fudge was leaving soon.

The five-year-old nodded. "Okay... but what about the others? Are they trying too?"

Luigi smiled at her. "I am sure they are."

Fudge returned the smile. "I love you, Luigi."

"I love you too, Fudge." He paused, glancing at Fudge's shelf, lined with a neat row of books. "Now, why don't you choose a story?"

Fudge's eyes lit up. "Okay!" She leapt out of bed, knowing exactly what story she wanted to hear that night.

Luigi melted when he saw which book it was, reading the title out loud. " _Guess How Much I_ _Love You_." He opened it up to the first page and started to read.

Fudge smiled as Luigi read. As he finished the story, Fudge announced, "Luigi! Guess how much _I_ love _you_! I love you to the end of the universe and back infinity times!"

And when Luigi kissed her gently, whispering, " _I_ love _you_ more than you will ever know", Fudge knew that everything was gonna be okay.

 **I know, I know that was a very short chapter, but I feel like it was an important one. I always felt like, while great for the town, having customers again would be a massive change and they'd all need time to adjust to it, especially a little kid like Fudge.**

 **You may have noticed in this chapter that Lightning takes Fudge for a couple of laps like he does in _Ride_ (and it's the cause of the main issue in _Ride_ ) and that's where it all began! I would've gone into a bit more detail, but I felt like I was going off on a tangent already. Maybe, if I get the time and ideas, it's something I can expand on for a one-shot. However, I have a million different story ideas, but I'm making little to no progress on all of them, so don't expect that any time soon!**

 **I don't know much about the book, _Guess How Much I Love You_ , but just given the situation, it seemed like an appropriate story to use there.**

 **So, the next chapter takes us back to the drama that was going on before Lightning showed up. How's it all gonna go? I think you can guess, but I hope you're excited nonetheless.**

 **Please review.**


	23. Return of the Social Workers

**Dun dun dun! They're back! The social workers are back! How is this gonna go? Read on and find out!**

 **Chapter 23- Return of the Social Workers**

They came on June thirteenth, three days before Fudge's sixth birthday. Nobody expected their return so soon and, immediately, feared the worst.

Sheriff was the first one to notice their arrival. He had been just outside of town on patrol when he spotted a familiar pale pink car with a familiar sour expression rolling in the direction of the town. She was accompanied by several people, all of whom Sheriff recognised. There was Kevin Fairchild, that timid white forklift. Amanda Jacobson, the human woman, who was head of ACAFCA for the entire state of Arizona. She was dressed in a sleek, black jacket, matching skirt, a lacy white blouse and the same red heels she'd worn the first time Sheriff had encountered her. Plus, she carried a black briefcase. Then there was Helen, Amanda's assistant, the yellow forklift with the pink glasses.

Sheriff approached the group. "Welcome to Radiator Springs", he greeted them, trying to be polite about it. "Here to see Luigi and Guido?"

"Well, we don't really have any business with them", Mary replied, sounding rather bored. "All we really need is for Brittney to be packed up and ready to go by the end of the week."

"Mary", Amanda stopped her. The human woman turned back to Sheriff. "Yes. Yes we are. I believe we have a lot to talk about."

Sheriff looked nervous, but nodded. "All right. I'll let 'em know you've arrived."

* * *

Like everyone else, Luigi and Guido had been at Flo's and their eyes widened when Sheriff pulled them aside to inform them of their arrival.

"Oh, no!" Luigi cried. "Not now!"

"What's goin' on?" Doc wondered.

Luigi turned to his daughter and his tow truck friend. "Mater? I think Fudge is bored. Why don't you take her to go and play?"

"Okay!" both tow truck and human agreed, running off.

"The social workers are back already", Sheriff announced, waiting for Fudge to be out of earshot, but also not waiting for anybody to ask.

Needless to say, they were all less than thrilled by this announcement, even Lightning.

"But her birthday's not for another three days", Ramone pointed out, not that they needed reminding. "Is it good or bad that they're here already?"

Nobody had any idea.

The social workers appeared just then.

"Luigi? Guido?" Amanda began seriously.

Luigi's eyes filled with tears. "We think we know where this is going."

"Well, if you think we're gonna look around to see how the town has changed since getting back on the map, you'd be right."

Luigi couldn't believe it. " _What_?!"

"Well", Amanda explained with a smile, "it's obvious a lot of changes have occurred here recently. No point in taking Brittney away if we're happy with what we see."

"What will happen to her if you are not?" Luigi wondered.

"Well", Mary piped up, "these last few months we have been working to locate Brittney's family and, with the assistance of the FBI-"

"The _FBI_?" Doc voiced everyone's confusion. What was the FBI getting involved for?

"-and we have learned of a very interesting story", Mary went on, ignoring him. She looked around at the group. "Tell me. Who here actually _saw_ Fudge's mother?"

Luigi, Guido and Doc confirmed that they had and Amanda pulled something out of her briefcase. It was a single slip of paper.

" _Now_ , tell me", Mary went on as Amanda passed over the slip of paper, "is this her?"

The three looked at the paper and were shocked when they saw what it was: a wanted poster and it was definitely Fudge's mother. They studied at hard to see if there were any similarities between Fudge and this woman, but they couldn't see any. Fudge must look more like her father.

It turned out that Doc had been right about something when Fudge was first abandoned. Her mother _had_ given them a fake name. Her real name was Dawn Hathaway.

"Yes", all three confirmed in a combination of English and Italian. "Yes it is."

"Well, this story is a long one, but I think you should know it", Amanda informed them.

So, Flo passed around drinks to everyone and all of the townsfolk gave Amanda their full attention.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mater led Fudge out of the town.

"Where are we going, Mater?" she wondered.

"You'll see!" he assured her. "We is gonna have some fun to cheer you up!"

"But _where_?!" Fudge repeated.

"You'll see!" Mater repeated.

And sure enough, it didn't take long to reach their destination.

"The tractor field? What's so great about the tractor field?"

Mater looked the human girl deep in the eyes. "It's time, Fudge. I'm gonna show you tractor tippin'."

"Tractor tipping?" Fudge echoed excitedly. She'd heard of tractor tipping, but had no idea what it was. Now, she was eager to find out. It felt like being let in on a secret, even though everyone in town already knew what it was.

"Yeah! Come on!" Mater instructed. "It'll be fun!"

Reluctantly, Fudge followed Mater into the field. She knew he was just trying to cheer her up, but she couldn't take her mind off what was happening back at Flo's.

* * *

"Dawn was an out-of-work alcoholic, living in New York City, so she was forced to live on the streets till her friend let her stay with her and her family." A pause followed. "And that was where she ended up having an affair with the husband."

Luigi's eyes widened. "The father?" he guessed.

Amanda nodded. "That's right. Anyway, when his wife found out and confronted them, Dawn used a knife to stab her in the heart, killing her."

The cars' eyes widened. They hadn't been expecting such a shocking story.

* * *

"Here's what you do", Mater explained, grinning like crazy. "You just sneak up in front of 'em and then honk."

"Then what?" Fudge asked.

"They do the rest. Watch this!"

Mater crept silently towards a sleeping, unsuspecting tractor and honked his horn loudly. The poor creature was startled awake and toppled over onto its back. It made a really weird gurgling noise followed by the sound of it backfiring.

Mater laughed hysterically, but Fudge just looked confused.

"Is that it?"

"Yeah! Didn't I tell you it was fun?"

"It doesn't _look_ fun", Fudge remarked.

"Come on! I'll show you again!"

And he did. He tipped over as many tractors as he could, leaving Fudge to watch. In the end, he _did_ get a little laugh out of her and the tow truck knew he'd done his job.

"You try!" Mater insisted after he'd done a few.

"How?" Fudge wondered. "I don't have a horn."

Mater paused in thought. She didn't have an engine either (what Lightning had used instead when _he_ went tractor tipping). "All right. You just watch."

So, she did.

* * *

"I think she must've been afraid after thinking she'd been suspected of the murder", Amanda went on, "so she and a truck friend of hers robbed a bank where they killed eleven people and stole more than a hundred thousand dollars in cash. Then they made their way from New York to California-"

The RS gang were shocked at just how much Fudge's mother had done.

"That was why she was travelling through Radiator Springs!" Luigi realised.

She nodded. "That's right. Brittney was born on her way to California. When they got there, Dawn and her accomplice got on a boat and fled the country. We don't know where they went."

"Wow", Lightning murmured.

"But I highly doubt that she'd come back for Brittney", Amanda added quietly. "And even if she did, we don't believe she'd be an appropriate guardian for her. Besides, she'd most likely be facing a very long jail term, should she return."

Everyone was silent, waiting for the horrifying story to sink in.

"What about her father?" Luigi asked finally his voice barely audible.

"Well", Amanda began, "we found out that her father's name was River Rose and we _were_ actually able to locate him-"

The townsfolk were nervous.

"But", Amanda rushed on, "I don't think he is coming to get her either."

"Why not?" Sarge wondered.

Amanda sighed. "The reason I don't believe he is coming for her is because he has a very important job. He is too busy travelling a lot. Apparently, he's been described as a workaholic", she added with a small smile, which faded away quickly. "We emailed him about four months ago- best way to get in touch with him, we were told- but we've still heard nothing back." Another sigh. "It's probably for the best. I wouldn't be surprised if Fudge ended up being neglected if she lived with him. She'd have so many babysitters, I really don't see much point in it. As it is, he has another daughter and son, whom he hasn't seen in seven years. They live with their grandmother in Thomasville, Georgia."

Luigi nodded, looking _very_ afraid. Meanwhile, Doc's eyes widened. Nobody knew why. He _thought_ her father's name sounded familiar. That meant she was related to... No! Really? Could it be true? No. The world couldn't be _that_ small... Could it?

* * *

All of a sudden, Mater and Fudge heard a low, groaning sound.

"What was that?" the five-year-old wondered.

"That's Frank!" Mater exclaimed. He used his tow hook to pull Fudge into his flatbed and sped off out of the field.

Fudge turned around. She had no idea who Frank was. She'd only ever heard the name and was curious to find out who he was. Out of nowhere, came this angry-looking combine harvester. The little girl immediately became frightened and started whimpering.

"It's okay!" Mater assured her. "He ain't gonna get us!"

"I hope not!"

Mater tore through the hole in the fence and out of the field.

"It's okay! Frank can't get us now! He'll never make it outta the field!"

"Okay." Fudge didn't sound so sure. "Let's go back to town."

* * *

"Luigi? Is everything okay?"

Luigi turned at the owner of the voice. "Fudgie? What are you doing here?"

"Mater and I got scared", she explained, but she didn't say why. "What's going on? Do I have to leave?"

"We don't know yet, baby", Luigi replied honestly. He explained how they were going to look around the town to see if there were any other humans.

"I hope I can stay", she declared.

"Well, it's perfectly obvious where she belongs!" Mary reinforced. "With humans and _not_ in this backwater town! She needs to grow up somewhere better."

"What's wrong with Radiator Springs?" Fudge demanded.

" _Everything_!" the pink car responded. "There's no humans!"

" _So_?!"

Mary continued, ignoring Fudge. "Nothing here is even _slightly_ appealing and that includes the residents-"

The reason Mary stopped talking at that point had nothing to do with the death stares she was receiving from the townsfolk (after all, this was a woman, who was most definitely _not_ afraid of whatever it was she had to say). It was because she noticed the ground rumbling.

"What _is_ that?" Amanda wondered.

" **EARTHQUAKE!** " Mary yelped.

"That ain't an earthquake..." Sheriff realised.

"Then what _is_ it?!" Mary demanded.

The only answer she received was a series of loud moos.

Pretty much everyone saw the tractors coming at the exact same time.

" **MATER!** " Sheriff barked.

"I wasn't tractor tippin'!" the tow truck fibbed.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Tow Mater!"

Luigi looked at his daughter. "Fudge. Mater did not take you tractor tipping, did he?"

Fudge said nothing. She didn't have to. The look on her face said it all.

For the next few minutes, Radiator Springs was in chaos. Tractors were chasing cars and humans. Cars and humans were chasing tractors.

"Get this dumb, disgusting creature away from me!" Mary shrieked, sounding both terrified and disgusted. She was far more used to the city than the country and had absolutely no experience with tractors.

"I got it!" Mater raced towards her to chase the tractor, shooting his tow hook out like a whip.

While Mater was able to get the tractor away from Mary, things got worse when it started chasing someone else...

" _Help_!" Fudge screamed, struggling to outrun the tractor.

"Fudge!" Mater exclaimed, rushing to help her, as did everyone else.

But Fudge's panicked state made not only that tractor want to chase her, but all of the other tractors as well. It took only a second for the five-year-old to be completely surrounded.

"Someone, please help me!" Fudge cried as all of the tractors came charging at her. There was no way out.

"Fudgie!" Luigi cried.

"Someone help me!" she repeated. " _Please_!"

All of the tractors closed in on her. They were all getting so close that Fudge fell backwards. The five-year-old was very afraid that she was gonna be crushed by these tractors.

However, a second later, a loud horn blared out. It was Red! The tractors mooed and toppled over as they'd done in the field before.

"Fudge! Hang on!" Mater shouted, sending his tow hook towards the little girl.

Fudge obeyed and grabbed hold of it. Mater yanked her through a small gap between the tractors to safety. She was free!

* * *

However, the trouble continued once the tractors were all rounded up and returned to the field where they belonged.

Mary glared at Mater. "Well, _that_ was dumb, wasn't it?"

Mater looked blank. "Why? I always go tractor tippin'."

Mary waved a tyre in Fudge's direction. "That little girl could've gotten _killed_!" she informed the tow truck, seething with rage and spitting the words out. She rolled closer to him, staring him down. "What kind of dim-witted moron _are_ you to claim that you _love_ the child and then go and pull _that_ reckless stunt?! I was absolutely right! This place is far too inappropriate for a human child to grow up! The sooner she leaves this... this..." She was so angry that she could barely speak "...this _hellhole_ , the better!"

The townsfolk were horrified. Their eyes widened before they became more gloomy and lowered their hoods. That stampede just might have killed their chances at keeping Fudge in Radiator Springs. They had failed her.

"Now, hold on, Mary", Amanda intervened calmly. "I'm sure it was an accident." She turned to Mater. "Mr. Mater, would I be correct in assuming that you would never intentionally hurt Brittney?"

"I'd never hurt Fudge or anybody else!" the tow truck insisted.

Amanda smiled. "Hmmm... That's what I thought. I think this incident alone shouldn't be the sole reason to remove custody."

The RS gang looked hopeful. Maybe there was still a chance...

"It should be", Mary muttered bitterly.

"This _isn't_ your decision, Mary", Amanda reminded her.

"But isn't it _obvious_?!" Mary insisted as passionate as anything. "Humans should be raised by humans and vehicles should be raised by vehicles! End of story!"

"Not necessarily", Doc disagreed.

"That's right", Amanda confirmed. "As long as the human _knows_ that they're human or the vehicle knows they're vehicle and they understand the difference between human and vehicle, I see no reason why trans-racial adoption couldn't occur."

"And neither does legal precedent", Helen piped up. She brought forward Amanda's briefcase. "And I'm sure you'll find many examples of that in here. Like this one." She pulled out an important-looking file and showed Mary.

"All fifty states have legalised trans-racial adoption", Sally, as a lawyer, chimed in. "It's been legal right here in Arizona since 1998. Maryland became the last state to legalise trans-racial adoption last year. There is no reason why Fudge can't stay here."

"I'm sure there isn't", Amanda commented with a smile and a nod. "Still, I'd like to inspect the town and observe it along with Brittney herself for a while before I make a formal decision." She checked her watch. "But I suppose that can wait until tomorrow."

Mary was appalled. So, she decided to appeal to someone, who had been silent the whole time. "Kevin!" she almost shouted at the white forklift. "Surely, _you_ must think Brittney would be far better off being raised by humans!"

"It's not really my place to say-" he began, too afraid to tell her that he agreed with the others.

Mary scoffed. After making several failed attempts to talk, she simply stormed off.

Amanda smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that. I think it's clear that Mary feels very strongly about this."

"But why?" Fudge wondered. "Why does she want me to leave so bad?"

"I happen to know that Mary was adopted by humans at a young age", Amanda explained. "Then legislation came into place preventing trans-racial adoption and she was sent away to live with a family of cars."

"Really?" Everyone was surprised.

"Yep. And now, she's bitter about the whole thing." She sighed remorsefully. "In hindsight, sending _her_ to deal with this case in the first place probably wasn't the best idea." She looked to all of the Radiator Springs residents in turn. "I feel like I owe you all an apology. This whole thing could've been avoided. I'm sorry.

"But", she rushed on before anybody could say anything, "if I am satisfied with what I see here, Brittney will be able to stay. And, while I haven't begun an official observation, already I am pretty happy with what I've seen. Plus, I can see how much she is loved here. So... even if a relocation is necessary, I promise I will help make arrangements for you to keep in touch with Brittney and maybe even have her visit Radiator Springs every once in a while."

Everyone smiled. At least if she was taken away, it wouldn't be goodbye forever.

"By the end of the week, I will have my decision", Amanda promised before standing up. "Is it all right if I turn in for the night?"

"Of course", Sally replied, driving off towards the Cozy Cone. "Come with me."

So, the social workers turned in for the night while the townsfolk stayed at Flo's and talked a little while longer. At that moment, the mood was cautiously optimistic. It seemed that they were close to keeping Fudge after all. But if there was one thing they'd learned from this whole episode, it was that anything could happen.

 **Wow! Only two chapters to go! I hope you're excited for those!**

 **By the way, did you notice which state I made the last one to legalise trans-racial adoption? Know why I chose that state? Hint: What's the horrible social worker's name? XD If you wanna learn more of how Fudge was adopted, please read my _Tales From Radiator Springs_ story, _Fudge Day_ , if you haven't done so already. That was originally part of this story, but I uploaded it before this one, so it's not in this version.**

 **And Fudge has learned about tractor tipping. I love how Mater says, "It's time." It sounds like it's a rite of passage or something. XD**

 **So, will Fudge leave or will she stay? Tune in next week to find out. Till then, that's all, folks!**


	24. The Waiting Game

**Okay. This is it, my friends. The moment of truth has arrived. It's all come down to this. Will Fudge stay or will she leave? Who will win this fight for Fudge- Mary or Radiator Springs? Does Mary have any more tricks up her non-existent sleeves? Will I keep asking you these annoying questions or will I shut up and let you read this chapter? Yeah. I think I'm gonna go with the latter.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 24- The Waiting Game**

"Hey, Luigi!" Lightning called out, entering the bathroom in the yellow Fiat's home (past the store area where they had the showroom, the storage room and Luigi's office was the home area of Casa Della Tires, where they had a living room, a kitchen/dining area, a bathroom and the three rooms in which the three occupants slept).

Luigi turned around at the sound of his name and Lightning was _very_ embarrassed when he saw what was kneeling on his hood: one _very_ naked Fudge. Luigi had been about to put Fudge in the bath.

"Hi, Lightning!" Fudge called cheerfully.

"Whoa!" Lightning exclaimed, embarrassed, reversing to drive back out. Wow! He _really_ needed to learn to knock! First, right before he found Doc's Piston Cups, he ended up seeing more of Sheriff than he needed to see when he drove in on him getting examined by Doc. Now, _this_. "Sorry! I-"

"No, no, no, no!" Luigi assured him hurriedly, placing Fudge in the bath gently. "It is okay, right, Fudge?"

Fudge nodded.

"Okay..." Lightning came back in uncertainly.

"Why are you sorry?" Fudge quizzed Lightning. As a five-year-old, who'd been raised by cars and had never seen another human until recently, she didn't really understand why she always had to wear clothes and nobody else did.

"I will explain later", Luigi whispered to her.

"Okay", she agreed, having heard Luigi say that many a time.

"What did you want?" Luigi wanted to know.

"Thought you two could do with some company", Lightning replied, moving closer to them. "You know, after today..."

Luigi nodded and smiled at him gratefully. It was the day after the social workers had arrived and Amanda had spent the day observing Fudge.

"Just pretend I'm not here", she'd instructed the girl. "Just do what you normally do."

So, Fudge played soccer and hide-and-seek with Mater and Lightning, joined some of the human children in a game of hopscotch, played with her bubble machine, drew some pictures and, to show them that Fudge was receiving education, Luigi got Fudge to read a book out loud, write out her letters and some other words that she knew. Amanda had watched her. So did Helen with Mary and Kevin showing up at different times of the day to watch as well.

At the end of the day, Amanda asked Fudge some questions about how she felt about living in Radiator Springs and the type of life she was getting (by that point, even Amanda was calling her Fudge instead of Brittney). Then she informed the two Italians that she would have her decision in the morning. For now, it was just a matter of playing the waiting game. Still, it looked like Amanda and Helen liked what they saw that day.

* * *

Now, Luigi was playing with the child in question as she splashed happily in the bathtub. Most of the others, including Guido, were at Flo's, but Lightning had decided to go over to Casa Della Tires. Like he said, with everything going on, he felt like both Luigi and Fudge could do with the company.

Fudge scooped up some of the bubble bath, which she had been smearing all over her face and placed it gently on Luigi's hood. The Fiat was confused, but Fudge just laughed, so he laughed with her. Then Fudge splashed him.

"Fudgie!" Luigi laughed, splashing her back.

"Okay, lie down, Fudge", Luigi instructed his daughter once he'd lathered her hair in shampoo.

"Okay!" Fudge, agreed, giggling.

She lay down and Luigi began to rinse her hair while she giggled. Until...

"Ow, ow, ow, _ow_!" she cried abruptly.

"Did you get shampoo in your eyes again?" Luigi questioned.

She nodded and Luigi looked at her.

"Open your eye, Fudgie", he instructed. "Oh, it _does_ look red. Poor baby." He grabbed a small towel and gave it to his daughter.

" _Grazie_." She wiped her eyes with it.

Lightning just stared. It was obvious just how much Luigi cared about this little girl. Everyone in town did, but just seeing Luigi with Fudge, even though he wasn't part of the moment, Lightning could feel the love that they had for each other. He couldn't believe that _this_ was a family that faced being torn apart. They didn't deserve that.

"Okay", Luigi announced some time later, washing out the last of the bubble bath Fudge had smeared across her hair and face. "I think it is time that you were in bed."

" _Bed_?!" Fudge repeated, plunging her fists into the water around her.

"Yeah", Lightning confirmed. He had stayed the whole time, talking to Fudge and playing with her. "It's time for little Fudgie to go night-night." **(AN: I couldn't resist, all right?)**

"But bedtime is for _babies_!" she protested. "I'm gonna whack all the bedtimes in the trash!"

Her little outburst made both cars laugh. That was what she always said at bedtime.

"I'm not tired!" the five-year-old went on.

"Well, Luigi is _very_ tired", her father countered, helping her out of the bath.

"Why was Lightning sorry when he came in?" Fudge wanted to know while Luigi was drying her off.

"Because you are not supposed to see humans not wearing any clothes", Luigi explained as he continued to dry his daughter.

"Why not?"

"Because..." He was struggling to find a way to explain this to her. "That is the way it is."

"But you and Guido see me with no clothes on all the time", Fudge pointed out.

"Yes. Because Guido and I are _allowed_ to see _you_ with no clothes on", he countered, kissing her. "Because you are our daughter."

"Oh. Okay... But what about everyone else?" At one time or another, all of the other Radiator Springs citizens had seen Fudge naked because it was a small town and they were a family. They had been changing her diaper or helping her fathers give her a bath or simply present when they were doing one of those things like Lightning was that night.

"Well, that is okay too", Luigi assured her. "Because we are a family."

Fudge nodded. "Okay."

* * *

Once Fudge was dried off, Luigi got her into her pyjamas and helped her brush her hair and teeth.

"Are you ready for bed, my little angel?" Luigi quizzed his daughter once all of this was done.

"Moo-Moo's in the living room!" Fudge announced almost hysterically.

"Okay. Let's get him."

As soon as Fudge saw Moo-Moo, she pounced on him and leapt onto the couch, cuddling him. Luigi smiled. Then he noticed a book lying on the coffee table.

"What is this doing here?" he wondered, picking it up.

"I was trying to find you and Guido, so one of you could read it to me", Fudge answered. "But I couldn't find you."

Luigi melted. "Well, I am here now, Fudgie! Do you want me to read to you?"

She nodded.

"Okay." He opened to the first page.

"What is that book?" Lightning asked, peering at the front cover. It took him a couple of seconds to realise that the book was written in Italian.

Luigi realised that he'd noticed this. "How about I read every page in Italian and then, for Lightning, I read it in English?" he suggested.

"You don't know Italian?" Fudge questioned.

"No. I never needed to learn it", Lightning replied. "I learned French at school. Well, I took French _classes_ , but I never paid any attention."

"Well", Luigi remarked with a smile, "we will have to teach you Italian, won't we, Fudge?"

The child nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Let's do that!"

"Okay, but not tonight", Luigi informed her, covering her over with a blanket. "Because you should be asleep soon. Let's just read the story."

"And you have to show me the pictures!" Fudge added.

Luigi laughed. "Okay!"

So, Luigi started to read. It was a story about a lost puppy that was brought into a family of cars, who loved him forever. As he read, Lightning couldn't help thinking about Fudge. She was a human adopted into a family of cars and he could see the unconditional love that they all had for her.

Lightning knew that Luigi was thinking the same thing when, after Fudge had fallen fast asleep on the couch, he sighed sadly and proclaimed bitterly, "But the dog did not have to leave his family of cars to live with a family of dogs!"

Lightning didn't know what to say. There was so much he wanted Luigi to know about how unjust even _he_ felt all of this was, but he felt like no words were enough. The race car sympathised with Luigi, Guido and Fudge, but he didn't _understand_ and he knew it. Only the three of them completely understood. Finally, the best thing he could come up with was, "Guess this is pretty tough on you, huh?"

"Fudge is my _daughter_!" Luigi insisted as he rolled out of the living room, leaving Fudge to sleep (not without a goodnight kiss, of course!). He turned to McQueen. "Do you know what it is like to find something that you have not been looking for, yet it turned out to be everything you ever wanted?"

The stock car paused. A couple of months ago, had he been asked that question, he probably couldn't have given an answer. It probably would've been no. Now, he responded to Luigi's question with, "Yeah... Yeah, I know what that's like."

"I don't care if she was left here and Guido and I took her in!" the Fiat went on. "I don't care that she is a different species to us! That changes nothing! She is our daughter! And if those social workers can't see that-"

"I'm sure they will", Lightning cut him off, following Luigi into the kitchen. "That human social worker. She seemed to really like what she saw today."

"I know. It is the other one I am worried about. She is so stubborn and really wants Fudgie to be raised by humans... She is a devil woman."

Lightning smiled, slightly amused.

"I always thought Fudge's mother was a devil woman for abandoning her", the Fiat continued. "The Devil that brought an angel into my life." He softened a little. "I just wish she didn't have to go through this. She is my baby. When we told her that she was abandoned- we had to with what the social worker said to her- she was so upset. She thought her mother didn't want her and that it was her fault."

"Poor kid", Lightning commented.

Out of nowhere, the two of them heard screaming.

"Oh, no!" Luigi took off into the living room with Lightning right behind him.

" **DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME AWAY!** " Fudge screamed. " **I WANNA STAY** ** _HERE_** **!** "

"Fudgie!" Luigi exclaimed, giving the crying child a big hug.

"Luigi!" she cried.

Luigi shushed her soothingly as he rocked her back and forth.

"I had another stupid nightmare!"

"My poor baby!"

"Is it always the same nightmare?" Lightning asked.

She nodded. "Most of the time! It's almost always the one where I leave Radiator Springs and never come back! I never see anybody ever again!"

There was a pause. It was hard for Luigi to know what to say to her when he was unsure of what was going to happen.

"I don't wanna go!" she sobbed. "I wanna stay _here_! I don't wanna live anywhere else!"

"I know, Fudge." Luigi rocked her like a baby. "I know, I know."

"It's not fair!" Fudge wept.

"No", Lightning agreed. "It's not."

"Do you think I _will_ have to leave?"

"I don't know, Fudgie", Luigi whispered. "I wish I knew, but I just don't. I am just as worried about this as you are."

"Hey, Fudge-O!" Lightning spoke up gently once she calmed down a little bit. "You want a story?"

The human girl looked up at him, wiping away the last of her tears and nodded.

"All right." He grabbed another book from the top of the entertainment unit, sighed with relief when he saw that this one was in English, opened it up and started to read.

Luigi smiled, watching them. It was official. Lightning had become a part of the Radiator Springs family. But would one member of the family leave with the arrival of another?

* * *

"Poor kid", Lightning repeated when she was finally asleep again.

"I know. I just wish she didn't have to go through any of this... I wish she could be my daughter without being abandoned by that devil woman."

"I think she is", Lightning voiced his opinion.

"What do you mean?" Luigi wondered.

"She's your daughter and, from what I've seen, this Dawn person didn't abandon Fudge. She brought her home."

Luigi smiled at him. "Well", he declared, "it is up to the social workers to decide whether or not she stays at home."

* * *

Guido returned ten minutes later with a can of oil for each of them.

" _Ciao_!" he greeted the two.

" _Ciao_!" they both replied in unison.

"(Fudge is asleep)", Luigi reported.

"(Okay. I will go and see her in a minute... Is she okay?)" Guido wanted to know.

"(She had another nightmare)", Luigi answered sadly.

The little forklift paused. "Ah."

"(Well, I hope the social workers decide to keep her here)", the Fiat went on. "(Maybe that will make her nightmares stop.)"

Guido nodded. "(I hope so.)"

At Lightning's confused expression, Luigi stopped talking and translating what they had just been saying.

Then Luigi sighed. "Well, I think it is time we locked up the store", he announced in English. He turned to Guido and spoke in Italian. "(Do you have the key?)"

Guido shook his head. "(I thought _you_ had it)", he informed Luigi.

Luigi shook his hood as well. "(I don't. It is not where we usually keep it. Maybe we misplaced it.)"

So, they went to look for it with no luck. However, they weren't worried. They just assumed that they'd misplaced the key and that it would turn up somewhere in the store sooner or later. After all, it couldn't have gone far without them noticing, could it? Besides, they had the spare key. They could just lock the store with that.

Lightning left about an hour later after talking to Guido and Luigi a little while longer. He thought that he should leave them to get some sleep, though he had the feeling that that wasn't gonna happen, given the situation. He felt like he was going to struggle to get to sleep himself. Little did he know what would unfold later that night...

* * *

It was 3:14 in the morning. Radiator Springs was dark and silent (the neon lights had been switched off for the night). Everyone was asleep. Except for one.

Mary was awake in her Cozy Cone, thinking about Fudge. How could Amanda even be _considering_ letting her stay in Radiator Springs?! Any idiot would know that a little human girl didn't belong in a town of cars. And if nobody else was going to do anything about it, then maybe she should.

Mary tried to be as quiet as possible as she rolled out of her cone. She looked left. She looked right. There seemed to be nobody around. They were probably all asleep. And that was exactly what she wanted. She'd spent ages planning this and the whole day making sure everything was ready. She didn't want to blow it now.

Not surprisingly, Mary's final destination was Luigi's Casa Della Tires. The front entrance was locked, but she wasn't concerned. During one of her visits throughout the day, Mary had managed to steal the key to the store entrance while nobody was looking. So, she was able to use it to unlock the door and just drive straight in!

The social worker rolled straight past the store area and scanned her surroundings, trying to remember where Fudge's bedroom was. Before she could remember, a sound distracted her. The sound of someone breathing deeply. It was coming from her right, so Mary (quietly!) made a beeline towards it.

Sure enough, there was Fudge, lying fast asleep on the couch. Her little hands were wrapped around Moo-Moo and she occasionally made a soft sleepy sound.

"Come here, sweetheart", Mary whispered, pulling the child closer to her and placing her on her hood.

"Mmmmmmmmmppppphhh!" Fudge moaned in her sleep, but she didn't wake up.

"Oh, it's okay, honey", Mary went on, trying to sound as soothing as possible. She started driving towards the exit. "You're gonna be fine once we get out of here."

" _Are you ready to go?_ " a voice asked Mary over a radio. It was her getaway truck.

"Yes, I have the child and I should be there in five minutes", the pink car confirmed.

" _Roger that_."

Mary knew that what she was doing was illegal, but it was for Fudge's, uh, Brittney's own good. This wasn't where she belonged.

Okay. She had the child, she had her getaway truck. Now, all she needed to do was leave. Get as far away from Radiator Springs as possible. Give herself and this little girl new identities (anything was better than _Fudge_ ; who in their right mind would _call_ their child that, even as a nickname?) and then pawn her off to a human family the first chance she got. She wasn't concerned about who or where. Anybody and anywhere had to be better than those cars in hillbilly hell. And it had all been so easy. She just had to roll through the quiet and empty town to the truck and get the hell out of-

* * *

"What are you doing?!" a voice called out.

Mary gasped to open the door to Casa Della Tires and find a wall of headlights surrounding her. All of the residents except for Luigi and Guido were blocking Mary and Fudge's exit. Lightning had noticed her rolling out of the Cozy Cone a few minutes earlier. Suspicious and concerned, he woke Sally up and told her what he'd seen. Somehow, everyone else in town was alerted in a matter of minutes and they all gathered outside the tyre shop to wait for Mary and confront her.

The social worker was unable to speak. "I... uh... I..."

"What do you think you're doin' with _our_ kid?!" Doc demanded.

They got the same answer. "I... uh... I..."

"You were just gonna take Fudge, weren't you?" Sheriff asked, knowing full well that that was exactly what was going on.

"You don't want her to stay here, so you thought you'd take her!" Sally added.

"What were you plannin' on doin' with the kid?!" Doc wanted to know.

Mary finally recovered enough to speak. "She's not your kid! She doesn't belong here! She never did! You'll see it one day! You _all_ will!"

"What do _you_ know about our kid and where she belongs?!" Sarge glared at her, rolling closer. Everyone else followed suit.

"Humans belong with humans and cars belong with cars!" Mary insisted.

"Not necessarily!" Sally argued. "I thought we established that yesterday!"

"And you ain't a human neither!" Mater reasoned.

Doc nodded. "Exactly! What were you gonna do with her?!"

When Mary hesitated, everyone figured it out.

"You were just gonna leave her with _anyone_?!" Lightning gasped.

"Not _anyone_!" Mary argued. "I was gonna give her to a good home! That can give her everything she needs!"

" _We_ are a good home that can give her everything she needs!" Lightning countered.

"No you're not!" the social worker insisted. "You're not _humans_! She needs to live with a _human_ family!"

"Well, it's now up to Amanda to decide!" Doc informed her. He, like everyone else, was tired of arguing with Mary.

"So, that's where the key went!" Lightning exclaimed abruptly, spotting her with it.

"What?" Mary asked, puzzled. Or, at least, _pretending_ to be.

"The key to the store!" Lightning explained, pointing to it. "Luigi and Guido were looking for that! You _stole_ it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she huffed.

Lightning ignored her. "I'll take _that_ and _her_!" he declared, swiping the key and taking the sleeping Fudge from the woman.

Mary looked around at them all, stunned. For the first time, she didn't look powerful at all. In fact, she looked helpless. "You're gonna arrest me, aren't you? You're gonna throw me into your impound."

Everyone looked at Doc and Sheriff. The judge and police car were silent as they glared at the pink car in front of them.

"No", Sheriff replied finally. "You ain't worth it."

"And we all know you ain't gonna try anythin' else", Doc added pointedly.

The townsfolk parted to let Mary past and, embarrassed, she fled.

Doc turned to Lightning. "Thanks, rookie."

"For what?" he questioned, puzzled.

"If you hadn't seen 'er with Fudge, she could've gotten away with that. I'm so glad you saw her. We might've never seen our kid again."

Lightning couldn't help smiling. "Well, I better get her home."

The other cars all dispersed to go home, convinced that Mary wouldn't try that again.

* * *

So, Lightning did take Fudge home. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he rolled into Casa Della Tires towards the living room to place Fudge on the couch (he was relieved that the little girl had slept all through the drama; otherwise, she would've freaked out!), not wanting to wake the child or her fathers up. The race car drove slowly for that reason, plus he didn't turn the lights on to avoid waking them.

It didn't work, though. Lightning saw the hallway light come on. Guido and Luigi both blinked in the light, looking like they'd just woken up.

"McQueen?" Luigi mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

There was a pause before Lightning replied with, "I found Fudge sleepwalking outside, so I brought her back here." He produced something. "I found your key too." He and the others agreed that there was no reason for them to know what had just happened. The issue had been resolved and he didn't want to scare them.

Luigi took the key from him, puzzled. "Okay... Where did you find it?"

"It was... just outside", Lightning answered, suddenly anxious that the two Italians wouldn't believe him.

But they were more confused by something else.

"I didn't know Fudge sleepwalked", Luigi commented, glancing at Guido.

"(Neither did I)", Guido added, which Luigi then translated for Lightning.

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" Lightning reasoned hurriedly.

Luigi smiled. "Yes", he agreed as Guido took their daughter, who snuggled up against him immediately. "Well, I think we should get Fudge back up to bed. _Grazie_. Thank you for bringing her back."

As Guido and Luigi drove off with their little girl, Lightning couldn't hide a smile of relief. They had no idea.

* * *

The entire RS gang gathered at Flo's at the crack of dawn. Nobody mentioned what happened the night before. Nobody felt that there was any need for it. Sarge and Fillmore didn't even have time to go through their daily early morning routine. They wanted to spend some time together before the social workers arrived.

It was June fifteenth. Fudge's birthday was the next day. And they had no idea if she would be able to spend her special day with her family. It was either gonna be her best or her worst birthday. With no way of knowing which just yet. All of them were nervous. Especially Luigi, Guido and Fudge.

"Are they gonna take me away?" Fudge questioned nervously. Like her fathers, she was completely oblivious to the fact that she'd nearly been kidnapped the night before.

Luigi nuzzled the girl, holding her closer. "I don't know, baby. I just don't know."

"What's an off-nidge?" Fudge wanted to know.

"An orphanage?" Luigi asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. That."

"It is where children who do not have parents go to be looked after until they are adopted." He paused and added, "You do _not_ belong there, Fudgie", hugging her tighter.

"What does _adopted_ mean?"

Luigi explained and added that she had been adopted by him and Guido.

Fudge leaned up against him and smiled. "I'm so glad you adopted me. Even if I have to leave now, I'm happy you adopted me."

Luigi smiled. "Me too... Me too."

That was when the social workers appeared. Amanda Jacobson was the first one to arrive. She was immediately followed by her assistant, Helen. Behind them, at the back of the group were Mary Wilcox and Kevin Fairchild.

"This is it", someone murmured quietly. It was so soft, in fact, that nobody but the person who spoke was sure who had spoken.

"Morning, all", Amanda greeted the RS gang.

"Mornin'", they responded absently. They just wanted her to tell them.

Amanda gave a small smile. "Well", she began, sitting herself down and straightening her skirt, "I guess you all want me to put you out of your misery."

Everyone chuckled nervously.

"Now, this was a rather easy decision to make-" Amanda started.

"You made the decision _without_ me?!" Mary interrupted, astonished.

Amanda shot her a Look. "Yes I _did_ , Mary", she informed her. "Because it's been clear from the start that you've been unable to keep your personal feelings out of this."

Mary looked ready to protest, but Doc beat her to speaking. "Let's hear what Amanda has to say", he suggested.

"Based on observing Fudge for a day alongside the town, where I have seen quite a few of my fellow humans", Amanda went on, "as well as the obvious love and devotion this whole town has for the child, like I said, this decision was a _very_ easy one to make. I think it's perfectly obvious that you guys are a family." She grinned from ear to ear, looking at each Radiator Springs resident in turn. "And I can not, in good conscience, break apart a family as loving as this one."

The RS gang gasped in happiness and disbelief. Was she really saying what they thought she was saying?!

It seemed like she was because the next words out of Amanda's mouth were, "Brittney "Fudge" Rossi-Topolino is staying right here in Radiator Springs!"

And there was much rejoicing. Immediately, both Guido and Luigi burst into tears of a mixture of joy and relief. The other townsfolk erupted into ecstatic cheers, all of them crowding around the nearly-six-year-old. Amanda, Helen and Kevin all smiled, admiring the warm moment for the family. It felt like a big victory for them.

Mary was shocked and appalled, once again appealing to Kevin, the meek one, who was always too afraid to entirely disagree with her. "Kevin! Do _you_ have anything to say about this?! You _must_ be against trans-racial adoption because of the psychological effects it could have on the child! It is an outrage to allow a human child to be raised by a family of vehicles who know nothing about the species! You _must_ have something to say about this! _Do_ you?!"

Kevin broke his gaze away from Fudge and glared at his superior. "Yeah... _Shut up_!"

Mary was stunned. She stuttered for a while before finally hissing, "You're all ridiculous!" Then, like she had done two days before when nobody agreed with her, she stormed off.

As for Fudge herself, she just couldn't stop smiling. Or crying. Like her fathers, she was crying of both joy and relief, her family smothering her with hugs. She couldn't believe it! Neither could any of the others. She was staying right at home where she belonged! It was something that they once thought would take a miracle to make happen. It was only because of the town's return to the map and human tourists that she could stay, which was all thanks to Lightning McQueen. Fudge caught his eye and they smiled at each other. He was her miracle.

 **So, Fudge can stay after all! Hooray! I figured you would've all guessed that already, but I hope you're happy with the end result nonetheless. I** ** _love_** **the part where Kevin tells Mary to shut up and I hope you all did too.**

 **Next chapter's the last one, so stay tuned for that.**

 **Until then, see you later. Fabulous Cars Crazy Fudge out.**


	25. A Happy Family

**Happy Lightning McQueen Day! (September 5th, 9/5, 95, get it?) I figured today would be the perfect time to finish off _Life Could Be a Dream_. Besides, after my latest update for _Ride_ , I feel like I owe you all something a little more light-hearted.**

 **For the last time, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 25- A Happy Family**

The social workers were all gone by the end of the day. Mary was the first to leave. It seemed like she was in a hurry to get going as fast as possible. Amanda and Helen were the last to depart. They wanted to go over the very few conditions they had to let Fudge stay. Luckily, there weren't many. Just that humans needed to keep coming through on a regular basis and Fudge especially had contact with humans and preferably one she felt comfortable around when she hit puberty.

"I'm sure you'll do a fine job of raising her as a human rather than a car", Amanda assured them. "Because you have for six years now. There are just some things I think Fudge would need _humans_ to teach her. Still, not enough for her to be taken away from here."

Everyone agreed that they could live with the conditions given to them. They would've agreed to just about anything if it meant that their Fudgie could stay.

Then even Helen and Amanda were gone, leaving the citizens of Radiator Springs smiling briefly at each other and watching the sunset over Route 66. As the two dark shadows of a human and a forklift faded away, they were happy beyond words that there wasn't an extra shadow of a little girl- _their_ little girl- beside them.

"Well, Fudgie", Luigi announced when the sky turned a silvery-grey, breaking the content silence that had engulfed them while they watched the sunset. "I think it is time we went home. You still need a bath and it has been a big day." He paused dramatically. "And we have another big day tomorrow... Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"My birthday!" she yelled.

Luigi smiled and kissed her. "That is right. And Luigi wants Fudgie to be all nice and clean for her special day, so..." The Fiat picked her up. "Let's get you in the bath."

"Okay!" she agreed.

There were no nightmares for Fudge that night. For the first time in a long time, she and her fathers all got a good night's sleep. The human girl awoke early the next day. Boy, was it a day to celebrate! It was her birthday! Plus, she got to spend it in Radiator Springs with her _family_! There was nothing she could think of to make this day even better. Nothing!

"Happy birthday, Fudge!" Luigi greeted her, entering her bedroom only a couple of seconds after she woke up.

Guido was right behind him. "(Happy birthday, Fudgie!)" he added.

Fudge smiled. " _Grazie_!"

"Are you ready to go, Fudge?"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" she cheered, grinning from ear to ear. It was an unofficial tradition for Fudge to come over to Flo's in her pyjamas on her birthday and she is later dressed into her new clothes that she has received as presents.

"There she is!" the others yelled when the two Italians appeared with their daughter.

"Hey! Happy birthday, Fudge-O!"

"Happy birthday, Fudge!"

Fudge beamed. "Thank you!" she cried. "I'm six today! Six years old! That's this many!" She held up six fingers.

"Yeah. You need _two_ hands to count your age _now_ , Fudge!" Ramone remarked.

Fudge nodded. "Soon, I'll need _three_ hands to count my age!" Then she looked at her hands. "But I only have two."

The others laughed.

"Well, you still have two feet", Lightning pointed out with a chuckle. "That'll keep you happy till you're twenty-one."

"Yeah!" Fudge agreed.

"Oh, I hope she is not twenty-one anytime soon!" Luigi exclaimed. "She is my baby and she is already growing up too fast!"

"Well for now", Sally piped up, "let's just let Fudgie enjoy being six."

"Yeah!" everyone agreed.

"Got your breakfast right here, honey!" Flo announced, carrying a plate and dropping it in front of the girl. "Chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream and strawberries! Happy birthday, Fudge!"

"Thank you! Yum, yum!" Chocolate chip pancakes with ice cream and strawberries was a favourite of Fudge's and Flo only ever made it for her on special occasions. Normally, that meant either Fudge's birthday or anytime she was really upset. Like they day after the social workers arrested her whole family and Fudge learned that her mother abandoned her. She got those special pancakes for breakfast that morning.

Everyone smiled.

"I get the feeling Fudge is gonna be spoilt rotten today", Lightning commented.

"Yep", Doc agreed with a smirk. "We spoil her every day, but especially on her birthday, Christmas and Fudge Day."

"Fudge Day?" Lightning repeated. "What's Fudge Day?"

"We celebrate the day Luigi and Guido officially adopted her. Fudge Day's in November."

"Oh, that's nice", Lightning remarked.

"Ready?" Flo prompted everyone. "One, two, three..."

Everyone began to sing, "Happy Birthday" to Fudge, who just laughed happily.

"We done got you lots of presents!" Mater announced, bringing forward a mountain of presents.

"Wow!" Fudge gasped, running forwards. "These are all for _me_?!"

"Yes. These are all for you", Luigi assured her.

"Wow!" she squealed, lunging for a present at the top of the pile.

Her presents mainly consisted of clothes, toys and books. As usual, Fudge loved all of her presents.

* * *

"I think we have one more present for you, Fudgie!" Luigi announced some time later. "Well, it is some smaller presents that lead up to one big one."

Fudge glanced up curiously. Luigi brought forward a series of wrapped presents.

" _Grazie_!" She tore open the smallest one to reveal a silver and blue backpack. "Nice backpack."

"And here is the other one." Luigi gave it to her.

This one turned out to be a sky blue suitcase.

"Oh, I like the blue!" Fudge declared.

"Now, Fudgie", Luigi began, taking her hand, "what do you think these are for?"

"Packing!" Fudge replied triumphantly, throwing her hands up in the air.

"That is right!" Luigi responded. "You pack these for a vacation... And is there anywhere you want to go for vacation?"

Fudge thought. She had a place in mind, but she didn't wanna say it.

"Didn't you always say you wanted to go to Italy?!" Luigi quizzed her.

She nodded. "Yeah!"

"We are going!" Luigi announced.

Fudge just stared at him. "What?"

"We are going to Italy", Luigi repeated.

" **ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!** " Fudge shrieked.

"No", Guido assured her. "(We are not kidding. We are going.)"

"When?!" she demanded.

"(In October)", Guido answered. "(So, this is a present for _your_ birthday, but we will be there for _mine_.)"

"Really?!"

Luigi nodded. "Really."

"But I thought we couldn't go!" Fudge pointed out.

"We can now", Luigi assured her.

"(That is right!)" Guido added. "(We have the money now because we have more customers!)

Fudge couldn't stop smiling. "This is the best birthday ever!"

A few minutes later, the two Italians ushered their daughter off to get dressed into new clothes. When Guido led Fudge home, Luigi stayed back for a second to talk to Lightning.

"Thank you", he whispered.

"For what?"

There were so many things. Without him, there would still be no business in town. Fudge would be gone before her birthday and they still wouldn't be able to afford the trip to Italy.

Finally, Luigi responded with, "For letting me keep my daughter where she belongs."

* * *

The RS gang finished up singing "Happy Birthday" to Fudge later that evening as Flo placed the strawberry cheesecake in front of the now-six-year-old.

"Okay! Blow out the candles, Fudge!" Luigi, who was right in front of her with a camera, instructed the little girl.

She obeyed, blowing the candles out, prompting cheers from her family. The human didn't bother to make a wish. Everything she could ever wish for was right here.

"Did you have a good day, Fudgie?" Sally wanted to know.

"It's been the best birthday ever!" she repeated.

And indeed, it had. She'd spent the whole day, playing games with her family (the entire town had shut down for the big day). They had a water fight and she had squealed with delight every time someone got her. Then, once it got dark, the townsfolk switched on the neon lights as well as Lizzie's radio and Fudge's bubble machine. And that's when the singing, dancing and cruising began. Just like when Lightning arranged the surprise for Sally. Only this time, Doc joined in with them, not going to miss out on the celebrations for their youngest family member. Still, the star of the singing, dancing and cruising was, of course, Fudge herself.

"Well, we're all glad you had fun!" Doc informed her.

"And I'm going to Italy!" Fudge reminded the others.

"Yes you are!" Luigi kissed her. "And we hope you have the most wonderful time there!"

"Me too!"

But in the meantime, she was going to have the most wonderful time in Radiator Springs. The most important place in her life. With the most important _people_ in her life.

Abruptly, Doc cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "Everyone? I'd like to propose a toast."

All of the citizens of Radiator Springs shifted their eyes towards Doc expectantly.

"You know, I've been thinkin' a lot lately", the Hudson Hornet began. "With Fudge bein' allowed to stay..." He gestured to Fudge with a grin and she beamed back. "...and the rookie arrivin' in town..." He smiled at Lightning before looking around at everyone around him. "And it makes me think... think about... how grateful I am that each and every one of you is a part of my life."

The others all felt both touched by Doc's words and amused that he had seemingly gone completely soft.

"We're all different", Doc went on. "We all have different interests..." He looked at Sarge and Fillmore. "We've all come from different places. Some of us have come across the seas to be here..." He looked at Luigi and Guido. "Some of us have never called anywhere but Radiator Springs home." Mater. "And I've even helped bring one of you into this world." Fudge. "But despite our differences, we're all a family. And maybe I haven't _shown_ it and I _know_ I haven't _said_ it, but I am the luckiest car in the world to have all of you as my family."

There was an awkward pause as Doc considered whether or not to say what else he wanted to say.

Finally, he decided to keep going. "I know _some_ of you know this, but I don't know if all of _you_ do... I wasn't in a good place when I first arrived in Radiator Springs. I suffered a crash that ended my racin' career and, although I had degrees in both law and medicine, I didn't really know where I was goin'. And the only reason I got out of that state is 'cause all of you were kind and carin' enough to pull me out of it. That's one of the reasons why I decided to stay all these years. And it's somethin' I feel I can never repay you for. And then Fudge came along and, well, we all know what a little ray of sunshine _she_ is."

"Hear, hear!" everyone agreed, while Doc's comment made Fudge beam.

"Then we had Sally arrive and she brought more hope to our small town."

"Hear, hear!" the others repeated.

"And when the rookie arrived, it brought a lot of great things to our town and to each of us. Thanks to him, we got customers comin' through the town again, Fudge ain't goin' anywhere and I was finally able to let go of the grudge I was holdin' over how my racin' career ended. And I finally got the big welcome I was expectin'. It was fifty years overdue, but better late than never." He was smiling at Lightning once more and the younger race car smiled back.

"Hear, hear!" the residents chorused for the third time.

Then Lightning cleared his throat. "Well, I got something I wanna say too." He looked just as embarrassed as Doc had been. "I think... I think you all know what a jerk I was when I first came here and I'm sorry about that." He paused. "You know, I really appreciate you all coming out to my tiebreaker race and helping me out. Thank you. And I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm looking forward to my second season in the Piston Cup way more than my first. Because I know you're all gonna be there cheering me on."

"Yeah!" Fudge yelled, making the rest of her family laugh.

"Thanks, Fudge-O! Well, anyway, I'm glad I met you all. Now, I know that life is about the journey, not the destination. And I can't wait to go on this amazing journey with my new friends by my side."

After that, _Fudge_ had something to add too.

"I'm so happy you guys didn't let those mean people take me away!" she informed her family. "You nearly went to jail because of it, but you still didn't let them take me. Thank you. I love you all."

All of the residents felt their hearts melt at Fudge's words. And it just got sweeter when she went around, hugging everyone.

"Group hug!" Lightning called at one point.

And just like that, everyone came charging at the little girl, eager to hug her. She giggled when they all came towards her, but stopped when the hugging began. She felt both calm and happy. She didn't have to worry about being taken away anymore. She could just enjoy every single beautiful moment with her family, knowing that it wouldn't be the last moment she'd ever spend with them. That meant more to her than anything in the whole world.

At the end of all the hugging, Doc cleared his throat again and tried to get back on topic. "And that's exactly what I'm talkin' about. I don't know what the future holds for all of us. None of us do. But any surprises that come our way, I ain't afraid. 'Cause I know we're all gonna get through it together. As a family. Just like you were all here for me when I needed it. Just like when we all refused to let those social workers take Fudge. Just like when we all went to Lightning's race. We've already come so far together and I can't wait to see where the future takes us. All of us. Together. And all of that is why..." He pushed his can of oil forward. "I wanna propose a toast. To family!"

Everyone joined in pushing forward their _own_ oil cans while Fudge raised her cup of lemonade. "To family!"

* * *

 **And... _cut_! That's a wrap! There's another story done!**

 **You may have noticed that in this story, they have a toast to family and a toast to friendship in _When Life Gives You Lemons_ , but believe it or not, that was purely coincidental! You see, when I originally wrote this, I wasn't intending on publishing it (hence why a couple of the first chapters are part of _Tales From Radiator Springs_ , rather than here), so even though posting** **song lyrics is against FFN site rules,** **I included a couple, thinking I don't have to follow site rules if I'm not posting it on the site. However, when I did decide to post it, I ended with song lyrics, so I needed a new perfect ending, hence the toast. Maybe I should come up with another toast for _Ride_ (I already have one in mind for _Run That Race_ )!**

 **Now, for the Easter Eggs!**

 **A113- the entrance the RS gang took to get into the stadium at the race.**

 **Release date of _Cars_ (June ninth)- during the Radiator Springs shopping spree, Fudge says she only has six dollars and nine cents.**

 **Day I saw _Cars_ at the movies (March fourteenth at a Pixar film festival three years ago)- 3:14 is the time Mary leaves her Cozy Cone to try and kidnap Fudge.**

 **I'd like to thank you all for reading, reviewing, favourite-ing and following. You have no idea how much it means to me. I'm amazed that this is my second story to reach over a hundred reviews, so thank you so much for that! Even though this story's over, stay tuned for updates to _Ride._ I've got a few more ideas and surprises in store!**

 **So, one last time for this story, I'm gonna ask you to please review.**


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